Category: Sports News

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi has been placed on the 15 day injured list with right posterior elbow inflammation, the team announced today. To take his place on the active roster, the Rangers have recalled pitcher Ben Peoples from AAA Round Rock. In addition, the team announced that pitcher Nolan Kingham, who was designated for assignment to make room for Jordan Montgomery on the active and 40 man roster, has been claimed on waivers by the Seattle Mariners.

So, uh, this isn’t good. Eovaldi started three days ago, on Friday, August 7, against the Baltimore Orioles, and threw 86 pitches over 5.1 innings. Eovaldi is no stranger to the i.l., and he’s been surprisingly healthy so far this season, up to this point — his 22 starts matches his total from last year, and his 132.2 innings pitched surpasses last year’s total of 130.

I will sit and bite my nails nervously until we have more information on Eovaldi’s situation. I would guess that Cal Quantrill, who had been in the rotation until Cody Bradford was activated, will start on Wednesday, which is when Eovaldi’s spot will come up next.

With about 40 games left in the regular season, the Milwaukee Brewers boast the best record in Major League Baseball (74-44), 2.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays and three games ahead of the Atlanta Braves. They are on pace to win the NL Central for the fourth year in a row, all while improving their win-loss record each year.

Yet, despite the impeccable record, a Cy Young frontrunner and high-end baserunning, several fans and experts don't seem to be taking the Brewers seriously as World Series contenders. Per BetMGM, the Brewers do have the third-best odds of winning the 2026 World Series at +1000, but that's a far cry from the favorite Los Angeles Dodgers (+155).

Sure, the Dodgers have won two straight World Series, made the biggest acquisition of this year's trade deadline, and boast a starting rotation that could go toe-to-toe with the Avengers, but when the playoffs come around, anything can happen right?

The Brewers have improved each of the last four years, getting further in the playoffs at the same time. Last year, they reached the NLCS for the first time since 2018, and although they were swept by the Dodgers, it was a step in the right direction. If their trajectory over the last few years keeps up, they could very well find themselves in the Fall Classic this time.

So, why are they being overlooked? Is it because they have to stare down the mighty barrel of the Dodgers? Or is there something else that fans are overlooking?

Are the Los Angeles Dodgers too powerful to stop?

Last year, the Dodgers entered the postseason as the National League's No. 3 seed. Despite winning the previous World Series, many fans thought the Dodgers might not have had what it takes to repeat as champions. Obviously, they did.

It took them just four games to dispatch of the Brewers in the NLCS, and seven games to take care of the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series.

This year, the team supposedly got even better. The Dodgers acquired the biggest name during free agency in outfielder Kyle Tucker and added strong relief options in Kirby Yates and closer Edwin Diaz despite spending a ton of money just one year prior on closer Tanner Scott, who did not pan out.

In all fairness, Kyle Tucker hasn't panned out either. The $60 million a year man has been underwhelming in 2026, boasting just a .727 OPS. Does that really matter though? The Dodgers have the funds and the talent to make even massive flops look irrelevant. Look no further than last year, when the team acquired Scott to be their closer and did not perform well. Did the Dodgers have to recover from a poor signing? No. They just spent a bunch more money on Diaz the next year.

Tucker is different though. He's an everyday player, taking away reps from other potential stars. In the playoffs, an outfielder is more important than a late-inning arm that can only go once every two or three days.

Furthermore, Tucker hasn't been that great in the postseason recently. Since 2023, Tucker has gone just 13-for-67 (.194) with only four extra-base hits across 21 postseason games. He still does well to get on base, drawing nearly as many walks as he has strikeouts in that span, his bat hasn't been as threatening when October rolls around, and with how poorly he's playing this year, perhaps that massive offseason acquisition will finally come back to haunt the Dodgers.

The team as a whole also has clearly taken a step back on offense. When the Dodgers won the World Series in 2020, they led all of MLB in runs scored. They did the same in 2024, and were second in 2025. This year, they haven't fallen so far behind, ranking fourth (591) with the Brewers right behind them at fifth (585), but it's evidence that while the Brewers have been climbing these last few years, the Dodgers have been falling; a slow fall, but a fall nonetheless. And with how highly touted the Dodgers' pitching staff is, it's easy to look over the fact that the Dodgers rank seventh in MLB in ERA (3.72) while the Brewers rank second (3.47).

How have the Brewers performed against other strong teams?

If the MLB playoffs began today, here are the six teams that would represent the National League:

1. Milwaukee Brewers
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Philadelphia Phillies
6. Arizona Diamondbacks

Other teams such as the San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins are in the hunt as well. This season, when facing those eight other teams, the Brewers boast a 27-13 record. They've won more than two-thirds of their games against the best teams in the National League.

For perspective, the Dodgers have a 24-23 record against those same teams (subbing the Dodgers themselves for the Brewers of course). The Braves own a 26-16 record. Good, but not as grand as the Brewers.

In all fairness, both the Dodgers and Braves own 2-1 records against Milwaukee this year, but that's just one series. Anything can happen in three games. We can't assume either team would have the advantage in a seven-game series.

The Cubs are the only team in the National League with a better or similar record than the Brewers against those teams competing for spots in the playoffs (28-15), but the Cubs have gone 2-4 against Milwaukee this year, and have recorded just a .163 batting average and .544 OPS in those games.

How important is pitching in the postseason?

As mentioned earlier, the Brewers currently boast the second-best team ERA in baseball and the best in the National League (3.47). But does that matter in the playoffs?

In 2025, the Dodgers ranked 16th in MLB in team ERA. In 2024, they ranked 13th. In 2023, the Texas Rangers ranked 18th.

In recent years, team pitching hasn't mattered as much as you might think come the postseason. While in 2022, the Houston Astros ranked second in team ERA before winning it all, recent years have favored offensive powerhouses.

That said, while team pitching hasn't mattered as much, single dominant pitching performances have reigned supreme. Just last year, we saw Yoshinobu Yamamoto drag the Dodgers to a World Series title. Yamamoto's Herculean performance was the biggest reason the Dodgers won it all. A single, untouchable arm can make all the difference in a seven-game series, and guess which team has the best pitcher in baseball right now?

Is Jacob Misiorowski built for the postseason?

Jacob Misiorowski has undoubtedly been the best arm in baseball this year, and it stands to reason that should the going get tough in the playoffs, the Brewers would turn to their 24-year-old arm.

The question is whether or not Misiorowksi could handle such a massive workload in such a short span. After all, Yamamoto is currently averaging more than 6.2 innings of work per start , while Misiorowski is averaging barely six.

That might not seem like a huge difference, but it is.

This season, Misiorowski has yet to make an appearance on fewer than four days of rest. In the postseason, it's going to be shorter. Furthermore, he's only pitched more than 100 pitches in a game three times. He also only goes into the seventh inning in just 31.8% of his games.

On the bright side, five of the seven games in which he pitched into the seventh came in a six-game stretch between May 13 and June 12 this year. He gave up just one earned run in that stretch, never had more than five days rest, and threw more than 90 pitches in four of those games. Despite his high velocity, that stretch shows potential for a workhorse load in the playoffs, and that might be exactly what they need.

Brewers' upcoming schedule

Of course, there are still more than 40 games left in the regular season, and one cold stretch could sour any momentum the Brewers have built thus far. Look no further than what is currently happening to the Dodgers.

On Monday, Aug. 10, the Brewers embark on a 12-game stretch during which they will face the Padres, Dodgers and Braves. These series could be a good measuring stick to see just how the Brewers can handle high-caliber opponents day-in, day-out. This will be just the second series against both the Dodgers and Braves for Milwaukee this year.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: The Brewers are being overlooked despite owning MLB's best record

Mets interim manager Andy Green discussed several topics prior to Monday’s series opener with the Braves…

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Senga impressing in high-leverage role

Though Green stopped short of naming a new closer in Devin Williams’ absence due to a shoulder injury, he has been impressed by what he’s seen from Kodai Senga moving into a high-leverage role.  

Senga worked around a walk in his first outing against Cleveland, then struck out two in a perfect inning.

“He threw an eighth the other day in the heart of the lineup in the highest spot,” he said. “To me that's as much leverage as the ninth, we’ll see how it plays today and in the coming days, we were fortunate yesterday to not need a closer.”

From Green’s standpoint, he felt that Senga attacked those appearances very well, and the Mets were left encouraged by what they saw from him from a velocity standpoint.

No matter where they end up using him next, Green is excited to continue seeing Senga tested in his new role.  

Young continues taking advantage of opportunity

Coming into spring training, Jared Young’s role on the Mets’ Opening Day roster was a bit of a question mark.  

With injuries and some underperformers along the way, though, the veteran has more than stepped up and carried his weight as the regular first baseman for the majority of the season. 

Young’s three-hit day in Sunday's win brought his OPS up to .770 for the year. 

“He’s someone the whole organization was excited about,” Green said. “Last year there wasn’t an opportunity, there was one this year, and if you look at his track record as a hitter he’s one of those guys you ask how did he not get a shot.

"All year he's been really competitive in the box -- he’s gone through stretches where he’s been outstanding and stretches like everyone else where he’s grinded -- but he’s had really productive at-bats all season long,” he continued.

“He’s also an amazing teammate, goes out and competes everyday, and cares about the people around him -- it’s always cool to see a guy like that get an opportunity.”

Here are the lineups for the first game in St. Louis. Let’s discuss!

For the Phillies:

First one in STL#RingTheBellpic.twitter.com/qUY4wjjfX4

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 10, 2026

For the Cardinals:

Dobbins Day pic.twitter.com/4pL5J9kT1E

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 10, 2026

Mets lineup

A.J. Ewing – CF
Francisco Lindor – SS
Bo Bichette – 3B
Carson Benge – RF
Jared Young – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
Brett Baty – LF
Jorge Polanco – DH
Francisco Alvarez – C

Christian Scott – RHP

Braves lineup

Drake Baldwin – DH
Ronald Acuña – RF
Matt Olson – 1B
Michael Harris – CF
Ozzie Albies – 2B
Mauricio Dubon – LF
Austin Riley – 3B
Jim Jarvis – SS
Sean Murphy – C

Bryce Elder – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 7:15 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Before we get to the lineup, some rather important official business, sadly. While we are technically unaffiliated with the Boston Red Sox, we are obviously part of the larger Red Sox community. For those of you hurting out there because the team hasn’t won in 72 hours: We hear you. We feel you. And we’ll do whatever we can to make things right for tonight’s “short-lived Yankees starters” battle between Sonny Gray and Jameson Taillon. We know we have a responsibility to you, and we will work like heck to make it up to you. No but seriously they hadn’t lost back-to-back games since July 1. That’s insane.

So apparently, the rumors of Spencer Strider’s baseball demise for 2026 may have been somewhat exaggerated. Right before the trade deadline, there was “scuttlebutt” from MLB.com Braves beat writer Mark Bowman that Spencer Strider had cleared out his locker room and was likely done for the season.

However, during today’s pregame press conference, Walt Weiss indicated that Strider may not be done for 2026 after all. When Weiss was asked for updates on various pitchers who are currently on the shelf, he shocked the room by casually including Strider in those updates as well.

Weiss had no updates as far as Robert Suarez goes and maintained that Spencer Schwellenbach had a way to go before returning from his throwing program. Weiss did mention that Hurston Waldrep had a “good report” once he got a second opinion on his throwing arm and then mentioned that both he and Strider would be starting up throwing programs soon.

“There was a possibility that he could’ve been out for the year,” explained Weiss. “It’s tough to put timelines out there because things just change. Their progression changes day to day — it’s never linear.” Weiss went on to explain that apparently it was just down to Strider himself noticing that he was feeling somewhat better than expected. “He’s feeling good, the tests are positive and when that happens you get to the next step where it’s ‘Let’s start throwing again,’ so he’s felt good enough to do that,” stated Weiss.

With that being said, it’s still pretty tough to imagine Spencer Strider coming back and having a major impact on the rotation here in 2026 and Weiss mentioned as much while continuing to give his thoughts on the situation. “There’s a big leap between starting a throwing progression and throwing on a major league mound,” explained Weiss. “There’s a lot to uncover but at least he’s starting to throw again.”

There’s already a prime example of just how long a throwing program can take — after all, it sure seems like Spencer Schwellenbach has been on a throwing program for what feels like half of the season so far. I’d imagine that it’s still doubtful that we’ll see Strider pitch in a big league game again in 2026 and if he does, I anticipate it being out of the bullpen. But for now, don’t close the door on Strider returning because apparently the Braves themselves still think he might have something to contribute here in 2026.

Meanwhile, BravesVision analyst Paul Byrd tried to get the skinny on the confusion that occurred on Saturday (and bled into Sunday) when it came to Chris Sale and that contentious balk call. Weiss stated that he was still just as confused as ever with what happened out there, despite having a conversation with crew chief Dan Bellino.

“This is not something that we have ever done. Chris Sale has never done this in his career; declaring from hitter-to-hitter. That’s never been a thing. You declare once and that’s it,” stated Weiss. “Now, if you’re going to go back to the stretch then you have to redeclare but he’s never had to declare from hitter-to-hitter — you declare one time.”

“So I don’t know where that came from,” continued Weiss. “I don’t know if the league is cracking down on it. […] If this is something that we’re cracking down on […] then that’s a conversation at the home plate meeting or a heads up. I haven’t heard anything about cracking down on it — it’s news to me! Usually there’s a memo that goes around at the very least. We’ve never dealt with this before and we didn’t even know what the heck was going on when the balk was called. I think there needs to be clarity.

“My conversation with Bellino is that he’s going to have to declare every hitter moving forward,” said Weiss as he continued to discuss the weird situation. “If that’s the case, then let me know and let Chris know. We’ve dealt with a lot of changes — not that this is a rule change. We’ve dealt with having to adjust with pitch clocks and throw-overs and we do it seamlessly because these guys adapt very well. If that’s the case then we need to know that. I think we’ll get to the bottom of it soon. It was a weird chain of events there and I’ve never dealt with that before.”

So yeah, there are still some feelings of contention between the Braves and that particular umpiring crew but for now, the Braves appear to be prepared to deal with it, adjust and move on. That should be the end of what was a wacky saga that somehow turned into a two-day affair (and now three since here we are, talking about it).

Tarik Skubal will toe the rubber at Dodger Stadium for the first time as a member of the back-to-back World Series champions.

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However, the team hasn't exactly played like winners recently.

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If you want to get the good news first, the Dodgers did win Saturday's game vs. the Diamondbacks, 2-1 in extra innings. Aside from that, it's been depressing results for the Boys in Blue.

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Los Angeles has now lost 10 out of the last 13 games. During its recent seven-game skid, it was outscored 46-25. The World Series shine has lost its luster, and the seemingly unstoppable force has hit a very immovable object in the schedule. Or, at the very least, a concerning speed bump en route to the postseason.

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Enter Skubal, who started for the Dodgers on Aug. 4, giving up two earned runs and four hits while striking out six across six innings pitched. The star pitcher may be what Los Angeles needs to stop the bleeding or could very well see his own star power dimmed amid the summer malaise.

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Here is how to watch Tarik Skubal with the latest updates for Dodgers vs Royals on Monday.

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How to watch Tarik Skubal and Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Royals Monday

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All times Eastern and accurate as of Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, at 6:33 a.m.

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• Matchup: KC at LAD
• Date: Monday, Aug. 10
• Time: 10:10 p.m. (ET)
• Venue: Dodger Stadium
• Location: Los Angeles, California
• TV: Royals.TV and Time Warner Cable SportsNet LA
• Streaming: MLB.TV on Fubo

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Watch MLB all season long with Fubo

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What time will Tarik Skubal pitch tonight?

\n07:00 PM ET, August 10 2026, Gabe Zaldivar\n

Tarik Skubal and the Dodgers are set to take on the Kansas City Royals. Skubal will be the starting pitcher for a game that starts at 7:10 p.m. PT.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What time does Tarik Skubal pitch? TV, time and how to watch first home start

After a spectacular week against the Tampa Bay Rays and the St. Louis Cardinals, Major League Baseball has named Colorado Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy as the National League Player of the Week. He is the first Rockie to win NL Player of the Week since Hunter Goodman earned the honor on September 8, 2025, and the first Colorado outfielder to do so since Brenton Doyle won the award on July 8, 2024.

Can't stop Jake 🔥 pic.twitter.com/GllOl1aI9q

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 10, 2026

McCarthy, 29, led the NL in batting average (.519), OPS (1.352), hits (14), and total bases (23), while his eight runs scored tied for second. In 28 plate appearances over six games, McCarthy also hit three doubles and two home runs while driving in five runs and stealing three bases. Perhaps the most interesting fact was that he struck out just one time during the week.

On Saturday, August 8, McCarthy had four hits, including his two home runs, marking his fifth career game with at least four hits and third career game with multiple home runs. During that game, he became just the third player since 1920 to have four hits, two homers, three RBI, and two stolen bases in a game, joining Shohei Ohtani in 2024 and Breggo Roth. He also became the eighth player since 1900 to have at least four hits, two home runs and two stolen bases in a game, and the first to do so since Mickey Moniak accomplished the same feat for Colorado last September.

2026 has been a breakout season for the Scranton, Pennsylvania native. Since being acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks, McCarthy has settled into a crucial role at the top of the Rockies lineup. He enters the start of the series against his former club on Monday batting .306/.342/.518 with a career-high 13 home runs, including two inside-the-park home runs, as well as career-highs in doubles (25) and RBI (67) with 20 stolen bases. He also has 32 multi-hit games, which are tied with rookie TJ Rumfield for the most on the club.

McCarthy has also settled in nicely as the leadoff hitter, where he has hit .307/.336/.546 with 11 home runs out of the top spot in the lineup. He has also slugged four leadoff home runs for the Rockies this season, with his leadoff home run on Saturday marking the second to come on the first pitch of the game. He is the first Rockie with multiple first-pitch leadoff home runs in a single season and the first Rockie with at least four leadoff shots in his first season with the club.

What’s more important is that McCarthy has not been fazed by home and road splits. At Coors Field, he is hitting .318/.345/.559 with eight home runs, while on the road he is hitting .293/.339/.471 with five home runs. Additionally, on the platoon front, he is hitting .297/.333/.498 against right-handed pitching and .333/.366/.573 against left-handed pitching.

Under team control for two more seasons, McCarthy has found a comfortable home in Colorado with his continued dynamic level of play.

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Since Spring Training, the Rays have quietly been pushing pitching theory in a new direction. They’re throwing more offspeed pitches than any team in baseball and, perhaps more importantly, they’re throwing them to same-handed hitters at a rate nobody else approaches.

To begin, their overall offspeed usage is on pace to be the highest in team history during the pitch tracking era since 2008. They’ve also got a franchise low wOBA against those pitches. Here’s how they stack up historically in their top five highest usage seasons:

Year	Usage	wOBA Against
2026	21.8%	.211
2013	21.7%	.274
2012	20.2%	.252
2014	18.8%	.275
2025	17.4%	.245

The Rays aren’t just throwing more offspeed pitches; they’re getting better results from them. Four of the lowest team wOBA-against seasons for offspeed pitches have come in the last five years, while five of the highest-whiff seasons have come during the last seven years. The 2026 Rays are barely ahead of their 2013 club in offspeed usage, but the performance gap is enormous. Their .211 wOBA-allowed is 63 points lower than the previous franchise low among their five highest-usage seasons, and it’s lower than the league average .267 wOBA on offspeed pitches this season.

So what makes a good offspeed pitch? Two traits matter in particular: vertical separation and velocity separation from the fastball. A larger gap in vertical approach angle (VAA) between a pitcher’s fastball and offspeed pitch generally produces more chase, while greater velocity separation can help generate whiffs – including in the strike zone. The Rays have tapped into these two metrics when acquiring and developing offspeed pitches.

Adding vertical movement to a pitcher’s fastball can be difficult, but subtracting vertical movement from an offspeed pitch is comparatively straightforward. Sometimes this is accomplished by “spiking” a grip or utilizing a “kick change” grip. We can see Rays’ pitchers average vertical movement on offspeed pitches drop over time as they have leaned into this metric:

Maybe the most intriguing trend in their usage of offspeed pitches is how often they throw it to same-handed batters.

The 2026 Rays pitching staff is on pace to throw the highest rate of same-side offspeed pitches since 2013 when that Rays pitching staff set the record at 28.6%. This year, they’re sitting at 28.6% as of August 10th. The Angels are the next closest at same-side offspeed usage this season at 20.2%, and the league average is just over 11%.

Even at such a high usage, the Rays are performing among the league leaders in terms of wOBA-against on same-side offspeed pitches, ranking 5th best in the league as a team in right-on-right and left-on-left offspeed wOBA-against. Both marks are over 60 points better than the league average wOBA-against for left-on-left and right-on-right offspeed pitches.

Why this works

There are a few reasons why the Rays are having so much success going against traditional baseball wisdom and throwing offspeed pitches to same-handed batters.

The first is simple: pitch quality matters more than handedness. The Rays have acquired and developed offspeed pitches that have optimal VAA and velocity differences from their fastballs. A pitch that meaningfully disrupts timing doesn’t necessarily need the traditional platoon advantage to be effective.

Same-side breaking balls have historically been effective because their glove-side movement makes them difficult for same-handed hitters to handle. When sweepers exploded in popularity in the late 2010s and early 2020s, they became increasingly common in hitter training, including through pitch-replication systems such as Trajekt. As hitters have accumulated more reps against those shapes, their effectiveness has declined. Even same-handed batters have been able to train against these shapes to the point where they’re significantly less effective than they were just a few years ago.

Same-side offspeed pitches present a different problem. Hitters simply aren’t used to seeing them. Rays pitchers are exploiting a training gap brought on by the last big wave in pitching theory. By being ahead of the curve and throwing more offspeed pitches than any other team (the Rays are also among the bottom of the league in sweeper usage over the last two seasons), they have found a new way to disrupt timing in the batter’s box.

Eventually, hitters will adjust. They’ll see more same-side changeups in the cage, more Trajekt reps will be built around them, and what currently looks unfamiliar will become another standard pitch shape to prepare for. When that happens, the Rays will probably have moved on to something else.