Category: Sports News

The Orioles kicked off a crucial nine-game road trip with a blowout 13-1 win over the hosting Cardinals on Tuesday night. Pete Alonso paced the lineup before he left the game with a flare up of his calf injury. O’s starter Chris Bassitt turned in a solid 6.2 innings before Anthony Nunez over-powered the opposing hitters in the late innings.

This was the Orioles most dominant win of the season by run differential, besting a 12-1 win over the Dodgers on June 21. It also tied their season high in runs scored, which they originally achieved back on June 5 in a 13-3 victory against the Blue Jays.

The Orioles scored all of those runs between the third and sixth innings of this game. Power got things started, and then the rest of the lineup just peppered the ball all over the park for the remainder of the runs.

Alonso put the O’s up 3-0 in the fourth inning with his 31st home run of the season, a 435-foot bomb to left center field that scored Leody Taveras and Jackson Holliday, who had singled ahead of him. A few batters later Christian Encarnacion-Strand went even deeper, launching a 450-foot solo shot to make it 4-0.

It was in the fifth inning where the Orioles put the game completely out of reach. The Cardinals had to use three different pitchers in that inning alone while the O’s sent 13 batters to the plate and scored the eight runs on seven hits, two walks, and a hit by pitch. Six of those seven hits were singles.

Holliday and Alonso opened the inning with consecutive singles. Gunnar Henderson then walked to load the bases. Coby Mayo knocked in Holliday with a single into left field. That forced Cardinals manager Oli Marmol to yank starter Matthew Liberatore in favor of Pete Strzelecki, an unwise choice since he would fail to fool just baout anyone with his offerings. Encarnacion-Strand welcomed the new pitcher with a two-run single to score Alonso and Henderson. After a Samuel Basallo strikeout, Christian Franklin was hit by a pitch to re-load the bases. Then, Dylan Beavers walked in a run before Taveras singled in two more. Holliday poked one up the middle for another RBI, and then Alonso drove in one more with a double to cap off the inning.

That eight-run effort in the fifth inning was the most productive frame of the 2026 Orioles season, and they managed it without even hitting a home run. It was station to station baseball at its finest.

The Orioles added one more run in the sixth inning when Franklin and Beavers doubled in back-to-back at-bats, inching the scoreline up to a 13-1 advantage.

That was the end of the scoring for the day. The Orioles collected 16 hits and two walks to score those 13 runs in what was a pretty efficient night, all things considered. They went 7-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base, which was perfectly fine in context. Complaining about the lineup on this night would be nit-picking.

But…

Basallo and Henderson combined to go 0-for-9. Basallo is the bigger concern since he also struck out four times and looked lost against pitchers that the rest of his teammates were teeing off on. The rookie is clearly still knocking the rust off after his recent IL stint.

The thing to truly worry about for the lineup is Alonso’s health. He was, yet again, fantastic in this game, going 4-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored. But he also reportedly asked to be removed once it was out of the reach in the fifth inning. His calf was still bothering him. Perhaps it was just a precaution, and the veteran knows he needs to take some innings off where possible. The Orioles offense cannot afford to lose him.

On the pitching side of things, the Orioles were just as impressive. Craig Albernaz used three pitchers to get through these nine innings, and he has to be pleased with all of them.

Chris Bassitt delivered his best start since coming off the IL, and tied for his longest outing of the season. Over 6.2 innings he allowed just one run (a solo homer) on six hits, no walks, and five strikeouts. The effort brought his season ERA to 4.74, it’s lowest point all year and the first time it has been under five as an Oriole.

Bassitt had some of his best velocity of the season. He was averaging 1-2 miles per hour faster on just about every offering, though his whiff rate stayed about where it has been (~19%). He paired that with a pounding of the strike zone and avoiding free passes.

Yennier Cano was brought on for the final out of the seventh inning, perhaps an effort by Albernaz to get one of his most important relievers a little bit of confidence after a recent rough patch. Hopefully it worked. He threw five pitches and got the one batter he faced to fly out.

It was Anthony Nunez that could be the pitcher that we end up talking about the most after this game. He threw two shutout innings, struck out five, and had a whiff rate of 70% (!!!). The young righty used four different pitches and got whiffs on all of them. He’s a pitcher that the Orioles clearly have high hopes for. As we have seen this year, his growth won’t always be linear, but the ceiling for him is sky high. We should expect to see plenty of him down the stretch.

This was a fun night of baseball! As long as Alonso is not any more hurt than he was coming into the game, it was basically a perfect night for the Orioles. They scored a bunch of runs, got great efforts from their pitching staff, and saw some of those around them in the wild card standings lose. More days like this are needed for the O’s playoff dreams to come true.

These two teams are back at it on Wednesday night in St. Louis. Kyle Bradish (7-12, 3.70 ERA) will face off with Michael McGreevy (5-9, 3,54 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:45.

Most Birdland Player, August 25, 2026

Who do you think was the Most Birdland Player in this Orioles win? Here are some nominees for your consideration, but feel free to name your own in the comments.

• Pete Alonso (4-for-4, four RBI, home run, double)
• Christian Encarnacion-Strand (2-for-5, massive homer, three RBI)
• Chris Bassitt (win, 6.2 innings, one run, five strikeouts)
• Anthony Nunez (two innings, no runs, five strikeouts)

The Cubs signed free agent catcher Austin Wynns today and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa. Wynns had been designated for assignment by the Rangers last week.

Iowa right-hander Tyler Santana, catcher Ethan Hearn and shortstop Ed Howard were all moved to the Development List.

Right-hander Cristopher Aranguren was promoted to Low-A Myrtle Beach from Mesa.

I don’t normally report on injuries, but South Bend outfielder Ethan Conrad went on the 7-day injured list. South Bend’s Reginald Preciado was activated off the 60-day IL.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were drenched by the Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals), 9-6.

Javier Assad got the loss after pitching the first 3.2 innings and allowing three runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out two.

Hoby Milner pitched the sixth inning in a rehab assignment. He retired the side in order on nine pitches. No strikeouts.

First baseman BJ Murray came a home run shy of the cycle, going 3 for 5 with a double and a triple. Murray drove in four runs tonight and had one run scored.

Second baseman Ben Cowles was 2 for 4.

Matt Shaw played the entire game in left field in a rehab appearance and went 1 for 5 with a run scored.

James Triantos with a diving catch in center. He was o for 4 with a walk.

What a catch by James Triantos! pic.twitter.com/CJCeVvlPDn

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) August 26, 2026

Murray with a two-run double.

B.J. Murray has his third RBI of the night! pic.twitter.com/Rmq9LrAU0G

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) August 26, 2026

Knoxville Smokies

The Knoxville Smokies shelled the Biloxi Shuckers (Brewers), 9-4.

Kevin Valdez allowed three runs on five hits over his four inning start. Valdez walked three and struck out one.

Yenrri Rojas threw the next two innings and collected the win. Rojas gave up one run on one hit and one walk. He did not strike anyone out.

Tyler Ras retired the next six batters and Vince Reilly retired the side in order in the ninth to close out the win. Ras struck out two and Reilly fanned one.

Center fielder Kane Kepley hit a two-run home run in the third inning. It was his third Knoxville home run and tenth overall. Kepley reached base five times, going 1 for 2 with two walks and a hit by pitch. He also stole a base and scored twice.

DH Miguel Useche was 3 for 6 with a steal.. He scored one run and drove in one.

Right fielder Andy Garriola was 3 for 6 with one RBI.

Left fielder Carter Trice went 2 for 4 with a walk. He had one run batted in.

Kepley’s home run snuck past the right field foul pole.

#Cubs No. 5 prospect Kane Kepley launches his 3rd Smokies homer 💣 pic.twitter.com/69IuDJdO2l

— Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) August 26, 2026

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs felt the venom of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers), 4-3.

Jostin Florentino started and took the loss after the Rattlers got to him for three runs on five hits over 4.1 innings. Florentino struck out six, walked one and hit one batter.

Right fielder Alexey Lumpuy got South Bend on the board with a solo home run in the third inning. It was Lumpuy’s second home run in High-A and ninth overall. Lumpuy went 2 for 4.

In the eighth inning, first baseman Josiah Hartshorn hit a solo home run to get the Cubs to within a run. (And that’s where it would stay). It was Hartshorn’s 16th home run for South Bend and 21st overall. It was also his 100th RBI overall on the season. Hartshorn went 1 for 4.

Lumpuy’s home run.

Is this Lumpuy out of the yard, I think so!@HoosierLottery Home Run | #SBCubspic.twitter.com/VUUWEqedQa

— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) August 26, 2026

Hartshorn’s blast was a new record for the South Bend Cubs. We don’t have distances in Appleton, but it went a long way.

Josiah Hartshorn breaks the #SBCubs single-season home run record!

Congratulations to the No. 1 @Cubs prospect! 👑@HoosierLottery Home Run | #SBCubspic.twitter.com/b6oljLnbm2

— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) August 26, 2026

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans undressed the Augusta Green Jackets (Braves), 5-4.

Starter Jubrayker Salaya pitched four innings and allowed just one run on two hits. He struck out four and walked three.

Jordan Henriquez took care of the final 3.1 innings and got the win. Henriquez gave up one run on four hits. The one run came on a solo home run with two outs in the ninth. Henriquez struck out four and walked no one.

First baseman Jan Reyes hit a two-run single in the top of the ninth to break a 3-3 tie. Reyes went 1 for 4.

Earlier, left fielder Darlyn De Leon tied the game up 1-1 with a solo home run in the third. It was De Leon’s second home run this season. De Leon was 3 for 4 and also scored on Reyes’ single in the ninth. He also stole a base.

Third baseman Corey Nunez was 1 for 2 with two walks and a steal. He drove in one run and also sore on Reyes’ single in the ninth.

The De Leon home run.

OH MY DARLYN! pic.twitter.com/0e8QY5UnwN

— Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) August 25, 2026

Royals 5 Blue Jays 3

Well, that was a frustrating game.

As I said in the thread, we weren’t going to run the table. If they had to win every game left to get into the playoffs, it wasn’t going to happen. They need to win most of their games, but not all of them.

That ninth inning……After two outs, Daz Cameron singled. Brett Bateman followed with a single and went to second on defensive indifference. Nathan Lukes singled them both home.

And then…..Lukes ignored the first base coach’s stop sign and was thrown out trying to turn it into a double. This CAN NOT HAPPEN. His run didn’t matter. If he score from second on a single, we would still be behind. He had to stop at first and hope that Vlad has another good at bat. You can not get thrown out at second when you aren’t the tying run. I don’t know what he was thinking.

The eighth inning was pretty much the tale of the season:

• Nathan Lukes took a one-out walk.
• Vladimir Guerrero doubled to right.
• An out later, Jesús Sanchez was hit by pitch. Bases loaded for
• Ernie Clement who, ummmm, fouled a ball off a part of the male anatomy that you really don’t want to foul a ball off. He was down for a while. I was of the opinion they should take him out of the game. I know I wouldn’t be able to hit after that. But, he stayed in and popped one to medium center. In the top of the ninth he dived for a ball and stayed on the ground for a bit, you know he was still hurting. Hitting a baseball is tough, hitting a baseball after being hit in the nuts, is impossible.

We had those two runs in the ninth and one in the first. Bateman and Lukes started the game with singles. An out later, Kazuma Okamoto walked to load the bases. Jesús Sánchez hit a sac fly. Clements followed with a strikeout.

We had tons of chances:

Andrés Giménez hit a double to lead off the second, but we couldn’t get him past third.

In the fourth, Clement and Giménez had one-out singles and Brandon Valenuela hit into a double play.

In the fifth, Bateman had a one-out single and went to second on an error, but ground out (Lukes) and flyout (Vlad) ended that.

In the seventh, Andrés Giménez was hit by pitch to start the inning, but Kirk hit into a double play.

And, well, we talked about the eighth and ninth.

---

Max Scherzer had a rough first inning, loading the bases on two walks and single, before getting his first out, but even with another walk, he only allowed one run. And he gave up another in the fifth. A one-out walk and two two-out singles scored the run, but he got out of it from there.

Five innings, four hits, two earned, five walks and four strikeouts. Which, other than the walks, was about the best we could hope from Max.

Braydon Fisher also had a rough time of it in the sixth, giving up two hits and as it turned out, two runs. But they weren’t earned.

Mason Fluharty came in and Kyle Isbel put down a sac bunt, the runner from third wasn’t coming out. But Vlad picked up the ball half way down the first base line, turned and threw side arm, well wide of Clement at first. One run scored. Quick play, but you have to make a better throw. Preferably not side arm (sidearm throws tend to slide to the arm side). A sac fly scored the other run.

Paul Swwald gave up a hit and two walks, but no runs in the seventh.

Brandon Little walked one, but had three strikeouts, in the eighth.

Tyler Rogers went single, steal, strikeout, ground out (runner to third) and single, scoring the run. I often say that the trouble with ground ball pitchers is that sometimes the ground balls find holes (of course the trouble with fly ball pitchers is some fly balls clear the fence, safer to strikeout everyone out).

---

We had 10 hits. Bateman had 3. Lukes and Giménez two. Okamoto, Sánchez (with a hit batter and a sac fly), Valenzuela/Kirk and Straw all had 0 fors.

1 for 11 with RISP just isn’t going to cut it.

Jay of the Day: Gimenez (0.18 WPA).

Other Award: Well, Lukes for going for second and ending the game, gets one. And Valenzuale (-0.15, plus a poor challenge, he also had a good challenge), Clement (-0.12, and he’ll never have children again), Kirk (-0.10), and Straw (-0.10, but did make a great catch in left).

Tomorrow we have a bullpen day. As Jamie says, we’ve done very well in bullpen days. Of course, my objection to bullpen days isn’t the game itself, it is the strain on the bullpen arms. Randy Dobnak (2-1, 1.58 ERA, in 9 games, 7 starts).

“It’s the magical summer of 2026.”

That’s how Dan Secatore began the game recap here at Over The Monster after Saturday’s heart-pounding win at Fenway. But you know what? That’s becoming an increasingly appropriate way to start off every game recap around here.

Make no mistake, the Red Sox should have lost this game. They should have lost it when they gave the Marlins 14 at bats with runners in scoring position. They should have lost it when Payton Tolle ran out of gas at the end of his outing and allowed five of the last eight men he faced to reach base (including a Heriberto Hernandez home run). And they especially should have lost it in the bottom of the tenth when Aroldis Chapman wasn’t available to close out a one run game and both Andruw Monasterio and Connor Wong made critical blunders that forced the bottom of the bullpen to get five outs in the inning.

Wong’s egregious effort was specifically problematic because it should have ended the game. Wyatt Olds pitched his butt off and nearly got the equivalent of a four out save (I’m counting Monasterio’s throwing error to lead off the inning as one of them), but because Wong couldn’t move his butt on what should have been the final pitch of the evening, the ball went to the backstop and the Red Sox needed another inning to win the game.

Very, very rarely does a team recover from a play like this:

But this is the summer of 2026, and like a law of the universe that doesn’t fully make sense, the Red Sox find inexplicable ways to win.

So of course, the Marlins go just 1-14 with the chances they had with men in scoring position. And of course, the leadoff double Payton Tolle gives up when he’s teetering gets thrown out at third on the next play. And of course the Red Sox still manage to escape the tenth inning with Alec Gamboa on the mound. And of course, they immediately follow that up with Jarren Duran grand slam in the 11th after he was hitless all night.

Here’s the shot from Duran that proved to be the knockout blow:

But that wasn’t even all of the magic, because before the game ever reached extras, the Sox were getting more improbable production from an unlikely source.

Normally when you’re looking for Mickey Magic in Florida, you go to Orlando; but tonight, the Red Sox got it in Miami. Mickey Gasper went deep twice, and neither were cheapies. Here’s the first bomb:

And here’s his second:

You know what’s crazy? Those Gasper home runs landed a little to each side of the exact spot where Roman Anthony’s home run in the World Baseball Classic that proved to be the game winner against the Dominican Republic landed.

And speaking of Roman Anthony home runs, he was doing this in Worcester while all that was going on in Miami (I think this ball would have landed in a similar spot to the other three if it occurred in the same ballpark):

ROMAN ROCKETTTT! 2 RUN HOME RUN FOR THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/gPlQJGAPtv

— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) August 26, 2026

But that wasn’t all that was going on in Worcester. While Andruw Monasterio was throwing the ball away in the tenth, Trevor Story was striking out on pitches like this:

I can’t ever remember a night where two games at the MLB and Triple-A level were working in tandem to make a gaggle of upcoming roster crunch decisions more and more complex. This is wild stuff.

What a night, what a team, what a summer!

Three Studs

Jarren Duran: Went straight from the dud pile (being 0-4 through ten innings) to the top of the stud mountain. A game winning grand slam will do that.

Mickey Gasper: This guy had zero career home runs in a Red Sox uniform eight days ago. He now has five.

Erik Miller: Looked outstanding again as he struck out the side in the ninth. He still hasn’t give up an earned run in the Red Sox uniform.

Bonus Stud:

Wyatt Olds: Very rarely do we hand out studs to the guy who gets tagged with a blown save, but Olds deserved better as he essentially got four outs and was kneecapped by Monasterio and Wong’s gaffes. (Over The Monster’s own Jacob Roy will have more on Olds’ inning tomorrow, so be on the lookout for that.)

Three Duds

Andruw Monasterio: 1-5 at the plate, and the nearly crippling error in the bottom of the tenth. He did recover and field the final out though, so at least there’s that. (Now we await roster decisions to see if this was his final game of the 2026 season at the major league level.)

Connor Wong: He has to get in front of that ball in the bottom of the tenth. That’s the type of play that makes me want Mickey Gasper as the backup catcher to Adley Rutschman with Wong in Worcester.

Wilyer Abreu: 0-5 with three strikeouts. That’s ten punch outs over 19 plate appearances in his last four games. It might be time to double up on rest and give him a day off ahead of the team’s scheduled off day on Thursday to reset things a bit.

Big Picture area of concern:

Payton Tolle: As great as he looked early on, he was coming unglued at the end of the outing, and this is concerning within the macro of the season. Tolle’s tendency to run out of gas both within starts and when he doesn’t get enough rest between them doesn’t exactly bode well for a guy who is already beyond his career high in innings pitched in a season, and the team needs to make a deep run into October. Navigating his usage will be incredibly tricky over the coming weeks, and could ultimately make or break their season somewhere down the line.

Play of the game:

Duran’s grand slam. So nice, it’s worth seeing twice. Also, take note of the crowd and how much it sounds like Fenway south.

It’s the magical summer of 2026, where oh by the way the Rays and Yankees just lost, and the Red Sox are now just five games off the division lead.

The Texas Rangers scored seven runs but the Chicago White Sox scored eleven runs.

In the top of the first inning, Wyatt Langford popped a ball straight up for what should have been an easy third out but due to poor communication from the White Sox infield, the ball dropped and the Rangers had their first base runner.

You could argue that Langford had time to end up on second base had he been sprinting but he settled for a single on the mistake. One batter later, Brandon Nimmo roped a ball down the line for a double. You would assume that, with two outs, Langford would be chugging around the bases to attempt to score.

However, Langford seemed to think the ball was either fielded by the Chicago first baseman or deflected closer to the infield or something because he just stopped at second base with third base coach Corey Ragsdale screaming at him to get moving.

By the time Langford realized the ball had reached the outfield, the best he could do was stop at third base, ruining a shot at two-out RBI and an early lead. The Rangers had another crack at that with Ezequiel Duran up with two men in scoring position but he elected to bunt with two outs for some inexplicable reason.

Now, obviously Duran was trying to catch the White Sox by surprise with a bunt but in addition to that being asinine as essentially Texas’ most productive and dangerous hitter of the last few weeks or so was reduced to hoping for a surprise bunt hit, Duran’s execution on the bunt itself was also poor giving the White Sox an easy out to wiggle out of danger.

Despite being gifted some golden opportunities, the Rangers wasted them and as bad as all of that sounds, I regret to inform you that the top of the first inning was far and away the better of the two halves for Texas.

In the bottom of the inning, Rangers starter Jacob deGrom allowed six runs on five hits and two walks. None of the six hits featured an exit velo of above 80 MPH. The furthest of the hits went was a 230 ft single that left Miguel Vargas’ bat at 71.5 MPH. All were weakly hit. Some were obnoxious bloopers.

It wasn’t all tragic BABIP luck, though. The walks were killer and the frustrating sequence was compounded by Justin Foscue being unable to catch a throw and apply a tag that could have negated a leadoff double, and later Langford making one of the worst throws I’ve ever seen that turned into a throwing error that allowed Chicago to score their first run.

After that first inning, the Rangers outscored the White Sox 7-5 so I guess at least they battled and scored some runs. That will have to suffice for the silver lining for the evening. Unfortunately that first inning still counted and the Rangers are back below .500.

Lesson: Never bunt.

Player of the Game: Danny Jansen homered among his two hits and drove in a team-best three runs out of the No. 9 spot in the lineup.

Up Next: The Rangers will try to salvage a series win in tomorrow’s finale with LHP MacKenzie Gore expected to make the mound for Texas opposite RHP Sean Burke for Chicago.

The Wednesday evening first pitch from Rate Field is scheduled for 6:40 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.

It was a back and forth night in Queens, but the Mets emerged on top, taking game one of this series with the Milwaukee Brewers, winning 3-2 in extras. After losing two of three in walkoff fashion to the White Sox, the Mets held on to win a game late and continued their post-deadline hot streak.

The Mets got yet another quality start of our their young pitching tonight, with Zac Thornton continuing his improbable run of success. Over six runs, Thornton didn’t walk a batter, allowed seven hits, induced two ground ball double plays, and struck out four. He worked himself out of trouble, he limited damage, and he continues to look like he absolutely belongs in the big leagues after being nowhere near anyone’s radar at season’s start.

His most impressive inning might’ve been the third, which started out with two straight base hits to the left side of the infield. A comebacker to the mound resulted in the first out coming at third base. A fly ball and a groundout got Thornton out of the inning and was another’s illustration of how he’s able to buckle down and not let game circumstances get the best of him.

The only blemish against him came in the fourth inning, when William Contreras led off the inning with a double and was driven in by a two-out single by Luis Lara.

The Mets got their offense off the long ball, with both Francisco Lindor and Luis Robert Jr. depositing balls over the left-field wall. Lindor’s dinger was the only run scored against starter Kyle Harrison, who is having a spectacular year, and looked quite good in his five innings of work as well. He struck out five, walked one, and gave up six hits. His slurve was especially effective early on and he, like Thornton, looked in control with just about every pitch he threw.

Robert’s home run came off of Chad Patrick, who was the first out of the bullpen for the Brewers. Robert let go of the bat with one hand and looked like he was swinging at maybe 50% intensity, and the ball still traveled over the Great Wall of Flushing. Antonio Senzatela was up next, and was good in his inning and a third of work. Aaron Ashby didn’t allow a baserunner in his one-inning of work.

On the Mets’ side, Nate Lavender relieved Thornton, and he was great in his two innings of work, not allowing a baserunner and keeping batters off-balance. Tonight’s six batters faced was officially the longest outing of Lavender’s career thus far.

Austin Warren got the save opportunity tonight for the Mets, and William Contreras greeted him rudely by doubling on the third pitch of the at-bat. Pinch hitter Jake Bauers was up next, and he drew a four-pitch walk. Christian Yelich pinch hit next, and lined a ball the other way to drive in Contreras with the tying run. After getting Lara to strike out for the first out, that was it for Warren.

Friday night’s goat Jefry Yan was brought in to try to close out the inning with the game tied to face lefty Garrett Mitchell, and he got the strikeout on a challenged call. Joey Ortiz then walked to load the bases, bringing up David Hamilton as the batter to either end the half-frame or drive in the winning run. Hamilton laced a ball to the left side, but a stretched-out Lindor snagged the ball out of the air to keep the game tied.

[Side note: it appears that the MLB.tv feed went out as the ball was in the air, sending a gasp across the tri-state area]

Trevor Megill, brother of the felled Tylor, pitched the ninth for the Milwaukee. After quickly dispatching Luis Torrens and A.J. Ewing, the hero of the last half inning—Lindor—came up, and hit a perfectly placed single down the third base line for an infield single. However, he was caught leaning off of first base, and was picked off to end the inning.

Jonathan Pintaro started the tenth, and struck out Jackson Chourio to start things off. Bruce Turang was next, same result, a swinging strikeout. Contreras was up next, and he worked the count full before taking his base. However, Pintaro got Bauers to fly out to end the frame without a run scoring.

Bo Bichette led off the bottom of the tenth against Megill with a fly ball to center. That would bring up Carson Benge, who already had three hits, and was intentionally walked to put two on for Robert. Robert showcased an eye at the plate that isn’t always there and drew a walk to load the bases.

Christopher Morel strode to the plate, just a few innings after Gary Cohen mentioned how positive of a clubhouse presence he is, and grounded into what looked to be a sure out to third base, However, David Hamilton made an errant to throw to home, allowing Lindor to score and the Mets to take game one of the series.

Robert Stock takes the ball tomorrow for the Mets, and will face Dustin May for the middle game of this series.

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Box scores

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Jefry Yan, +35.0% WPA
Big Mets loser: Austin Warren, -56.0% WPA
Mets pitchers: +49.0% WPA
Mets hitters: +1.0% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Luis Robert Jr.’s go-ahead home run, +17.5% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Christian Yelich’s game-tying double, -38.6% WPA

The Astros took their first bite out the big apple on Tuesday Night, and it was a big one.   Astros 9  Yankees 7.     

Game one of the post-Dana Brown era had a different feel with a much-needed result.    Call it desperation, call it sharper focus, patience at the plate, or just unwavering effort in erasing deficits.  On this night, the Astros fought, and fought again, often manufacturing runs with two outs.   

The scoring began in the Top of the 2nd.    Yanier Diaz would take an inside first pitch fastball deep.   That would be his 9th home run of the season, and the first of two Diaz would hit on the night.   

The following frame, the Astros would increase their lead.    Jose Altuve worked some two-out magic with a single, advancing on a passed ball and then came around to score on Dalton Varsho’s single to left.    That made things 2-0.   

However, in the bottom of the third the Yankees would immediately place runners on the corners for Cody Bellinger, and with one swing he’d launch a 3-run blast to right field.    For Ethan Pecko, it was his first allowed career HR in the majors.     

The Astros would tie things up at 3-3 in the 5th.    Yordan Alvarez would single to center, Paredes would walk and then once again with two outs Daulton Varsho would come through in the clutch with a single to right, scoring Alvarez.   

Unfortunately, the tie would be broken in the bottom of the 5th with a Luis Garcia two-run shot that brought home Ben Rice who had reached with a walk.    The Garcia homer would chase Pecko from the game.    Pecko’s final stat line on his 24th birthday read:    IP 4.1 with 5 earned on 5 hits.    He’d allow 4 walks, while registering a lone strike out against Austin Wells.     Bennett Sousa would come on in relief authoring a bounce back effort, going 1.2 innings, setting down each batter in order.  

In the 6th inning, Jeremy Pena would answer and tie things up yet again.    Yanier Diaz drew a walk and then Pena would launch his 15th HR of the year to center field.    Suddenly, the Astros had new life, an energy surge racing through the dugout.    

Steven Okert would come in the 7th, making his 65th appearance on the year.    Unfortunately, he’d leave a series of breaking balls high in the zone and the Yankees would seize the lead.    Trent Grisham would walk, Ben Rice singled and then a double by Luis Garcia would make it 6-5.    Okert’s night was done.    Bryan Abreu would close out the 7th.   

In the 8th, Yanier Diaz would take advantage of the short porch in left, hitting his second solo shot of the night.    That would tie things up 6-6.    Pena would then reach on a single and he’d score when Yordan Alvarez dropped a triple into the gap.    It would be his first triple of the season and his 91st RBI.    Isaac Paredes would single home Yordan, and it was 8-6 heading into the bottom of the 8th.   

In the bottom of the 8th, Manager Joe Espada elected to stick with Abreu.    He’d promptly give up a double to Spencer Jones, who would come around and score on a single by Jazz Chisholm.    Jose Caballero would reach on a single, and then Josh Hader for just the second time this season would be asked to pitch more than one inning.

He was up to the challenge.     Hader would record the next four outs and has not allowed a run in his last 15 appearances.    Exhale!    Astros win.      There are now exactly 30 games left in the season.     The Astros added an insurance run in the 9th.     They’d finish the night with 14 hits and would score in six different innings.    

Odds & Ends:

Peter Lambert (8-7, 3.68 ERA) is expected to take the mound for the Astros tomorrow.    First pitch set for 6:05pm CDT.    

Yankees SS George Lombard Jr. has now committed a throwing error in four straight games.   

The wins keep on rolling: tonight, the Kansas City Royals walked into the home of the Toronto Blue Jays and won 5-3 with a wild ninth inning that featured a pair of crucial defensive masterpieces.

In the first inning, both the Royals and Jays traded blows. Carter Jensen immediately singled against Blue Jays starter Max Scherzer; he was immediately followed by Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino walks to load the bases. Salvador Perez hit into a double play, an unfortunate result that at least scored Jensen. Fortunately for Kansas City, Toronto also loaded the bases in the first inning and also only scored one (a sacrifice fly from Jesús Sánchez).

From there, the game remained scoreless until the fifth inning, although not without traffic on the pasepaths. Royals starter Seth Lugo gave up half a dozen hits and a walk in his five innings, while Scherzer allowed nine total baserunners in his five innings.

Three said baserunners happened in the fifth inning. This time, Salvy singled to score Witt from third base and give the Royals a 2-1 lead—a lead which they would not relinquish.

Salvador Perez drives in Bobby Witt Jr. to take the lead! pic.twitter.com/IyCAOrna1Y

— Royals.TV (@kcroyalstv) August 26, 2026

The very next inning, the Royals extended their lead to three. Against relievers Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty, Nick Loftin and John Rave notched singles. Kyle Isbel then bunted, fueled by a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. throwing error. Jensen then hit a sac fly.

Izzy and Jenzo add ✌️ more! pic.twitter.com/mwsBhEuCR0

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 26, 2026

In the ninth inning, Rave hit another RBI single against submarine righty Tyler Rogers. Funky delivery means nothing against the Raver!

Raver tacks on another! pic.twitter.com/6L9Oyltvlj

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 26, 2026

By this time, though, the bullpen had entered the game. And the Kansas City bullpen has been, shall we say, unreliable this year. The seventh inning was the first inning that made me go “uh oh.” Connor Thomas replaced John Schreiber and responded by immediately hitting Andrés Giménez with a pitch. This brought up Alejandro Kirk…who fortunately hit into a double play to defuse the situation. George Springer then grounded out.

The eighth inning was similar. Nate Pearson replaced Thomas, and after a strikeout walked Nathan Lukes on five not-close pitches. Guerrero hit a booming double to right-center field to put runners on second and third with one out. But Kazuma Okamoto popped up, and after Ernie Clement hit a foul ball into his cylinder he hit a lazy fly ball. This put the Blue Jays at 0-10 with runners in scoring position.

This set up the ninth inning. Tyler Tolbert had entered the game to play second base after Michael Massey bonked his head on the ground after a nifty play to throw out Lukes. He left the game out of a precaution.

📹 Michael Massey is shaken up, leaves game pic.twitter.com/2GweI4DlPa

— MLB Injury Bot (@MLBInjuryBot) August 26, 2026

For a second, it looked like Stephen Cruz would cruise through the inning. He quickly got two outs, both grounders to second base. The second one was an excellent dive and throw by Tolbert, who broke and timed his play perfectly.

Then the wheels fell apart a bit. Daz Cameron singled. Brett Bateman singled and advanced to second base on defensive indifference. Lukes then hit a single to left-center field, which scored Cameron and Bateman to put the game at 5-3, Royals with Guerrero coming up.

Only Lukes tried to stretch that single into a double. And he was thrown out for the final out of the game.

It was a beautiful play. Collins cut the bouncing ball off well, spinning to throw it accurately to Witt, the cutoff man. Witt then rifled the ball with perfect accuracy to Tolbert, who applied the tag efficiently and effectively. Just…wow.

At 59-74, the Royals are a significant longshot to make the playoffs. Yet they have scored nine straight, and sources tell me that if they continue to win every game, they’ll make the playoffs.

Tuesday night was an opportunity for the St. Louis Cardinals to rebound from a profoundly disappointing end to the road trip returning home from Philadelphia, but would they? Much of that would depend on which version of Matthew Liberatore took the mound for the Cardinals. The answer is not the one most Cardinals fans were hoping for and the end result was appalling. Not to spoil this for you if you didn’t see the game, but everyone in Busch Stadium that was not an Oriole’s fan should demand their money back.

The game would get off to an auspicious start in the top of the 1st inning when Matthew Liberatore fielded Jackson Holliday’s dribbler on the 1st base side of the mound and fired the ball over Alec Burleson’s head into right field. Pete Alonso followed that with a solid single into left field with Holliday running on the play which gave the Orioles runners at first and third with no outs. Matthew would find a way out of the jam as he got Gunnar Henderson to pop out and then struck out Mayo and Encarnacion-Strand.

The top of the 3rd inning would be similar to the top of the 1st, but the result would be much different. Taveras reached as he beat out an infield hit. Jackson Holliday whistled a single into center which brought up Pete Alonzo who was not fooled by an 88 mph changeup which he sent soaring 435 feet deep into the left field stands for a 3-0 Baltimore lead. Two outs later, Encarnacion-Strand absolutely annihilated a 94 mph four-seam Liberatore fastball 450 feet even deeper into the left field stands for a 4-0 Orioles lead. That’s the longest home run in Busch Stadium this season.

The Cardinals would not go away completely silently. Nathan Church waited on a 72 mph curveball from Orioles pitcher Chris Bassett and ripped it 405 feet into the Cardinals bullpen giving St. Louis a run making the score 4-1. That’s the lone St. Louis Cardinals highlight, by the way.

That brief moment of St. Louis Cardinals optimism was short-lived. Matthew Liberatore would not survive the 5th inning. Jackson Holliday led off with his third hit of the night followed by another single from Cardinals nemesis Pete Alonzo. Matthew Liberatore then walked Gunnar Henderson to load the bases with no one out. Liberatore’s last batter was Mayo who he surrendered a single to making it 5-1 Orioles and even though Matthew was done, Baltimore wasn’t done scoring. Liberatore’s replacement was Peter Strzelecki who didn’t fare much better than his predecessor. He immediately gave up a single to Encarnacion-Strand which plated two more Orioles upping the Baltimore lead to 7-1. Stzelecki did accomplish one good thing during his relief outing. He struck out Basallo and…yeah, that’s it. Next he hit Franklin with a pitch, gave up a single to Taveras, a single to Holliday and a double to Alonzo. When the dust settled, it was 12-1 Orioles and by the time the horrific 5th inning was done, Caleb Ferguson was in the game as the designated “you’re pitching until you’re too tired to pitch for the rest of the game” guy.

As many of the regulars for both teams sat going into the top of the 6th inning, the Orioles decided to score again just for fun when Ferguson gave up back-to-back doubles to Franklin and Beavers. 13-1 Baltimore. Someone please make it stop. Oh, did I say that out loud?

The Cardinals brought in Ryan Fernandez to take care of the Oriole’s 7th inning. After Carlos Narvaez hit a double, it’s almost like the Orioles had to try hard NOT to score. When Henderson grounded out, he seemed to just stroll to third as if he felt guilty about possibly scoring another run. Fortunately, Fernandez was able to get out of the inning without further humiliation. By contrast, the Orioles starter Chris Bassitt pitched deep into the bottom of the 7th inning when he was finally lifted for Baltimore reliever Cano.

Instead of going into any more details about the nuts and bolts of what happened for the start of the St. Louis Cardinals homestand, I can sum it up in 3 words: THAT. WAS. UGLY.

I’ll add just one more thought before calling it a night. Was Matthew Liberatore’s performance sub-par? Sure it was, but that’s no excuse for what I perceived as an overall lack of energy from the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday night. The fact that the game completely got out of hand in the 5th inning didn’t help, but if they expect fans to fill the stands anytime soon, a better effort isn’t just expected. It is demanded. I know it’s a long season and we’re nearing the end of it, but I’d like to see some resemblance of the young, hungry team we saw during the first couple of months. I started watching Tuesday night’s game believing the Cardinals could muster a run to grab the third Wild Card slot. Now? Give me a break. Put a fork into this season. This team is done. I’d love to be proven wrong.

The St. Louis Cardinals will try again against the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday night. Michael McGreevy gets the start for the Cardinals while the Orioles will send Kyle Bradish to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm central time at Busch Stadium while the game broadcast is available via Cardinals.tv.

The Yankees’ offense had really struggled for more than two months, something that has held the team back from truly going on a run. They’ve still managed to win despite it, but that’s due to their outstanding pitching. An unheralded aspect of said pitching is the bullpen, which despite feeling incredibly shallow, has been one of the more effective units in the sport. If you were told entering the night that the Yankees put up seven runs and Will Warren only allowed three in five innings, it would be reasonable to put this one in the bank as a win.

But with an opportunity to gain a game on Tampa, pretty much nothing went right in the ‘pen. Fernando Cruz and Brent Headrick gave up back-breaking homers as the unit allowed six runs in four innings, spoiling Luis García Jr.’s best game as a Yankee in a 9-7 loss to the sputtering Astros.

It’s never an easy first inning when Warren is on the mound, but this one was less on him than others. After starting the game with a K, he allowed a bullet single to Yordan Alvarez and an infield single off the glove of Jazz Chisholm Jr. to put runners on the corners with two outs, but he wiggled out of it on a Daulton Varsho groundout. Despite a long Ben Rice flyout and a two-out single by Luis García Jr., the Yankees again did not score in the first inning against Ethan Pecko.

Yainer Diaz opened the scoring in the second by ambushing Warren’s first-pitch sinker inside for a two-out home run to make it 1-0 Astros. It wasn’t a bad pitch, but it was a hitter who knew what he wanted to hit. A walk to Taylor Trammell looked potentially perilous when the lineup flipped over, and Jeremy Peña shot one towards the porch, but Spencer Jones made a running play on the track to get back in the dugout.

Pecko had a much rockier second inning with his command, falling behind Jones 3-0 before eventually retiring him and proceeding to walk the next two batters to bring José Caballero up with two on and two out, only for him to ground out with a full count. Warren continued to grind through long at-bats in the third, but got a raw deal with two outs on a ground-ball single by Jose Altuve, a passed ball by Austin Wells, and a Varsho RBI single to make it 2-0, where it seemed Cody Bellinger could’ve had Altuve with a better throw than a three-hopper.

There’s something sweet about the feeling of redemption, though, as Bellinger made up for a rare underwhelming defensive play with a big swing in the bottom half. Pecko continued to struggle with command, walking Grisham and allowing a single to García to put runners on the corners with one out, setting up the Yankees’ left fielder to crush a first-pitch fastball off the face of the second deck for his first home run in over two months and a 3-2 Yankees lead.

Both pitchers finally put up a 1-2-3 fourth, but not without their pitch counts continuing to climb. Warren ran into more trouble in the fifth with a Yordan single and a walk to Isaac Paredes, but it looked like he was going to get out of it when Varsho hit a slow grounder to the right side, but it squeaked just between García and Jazz to tie the game at three. Warren finished his outing with an acceptable five innings and three runs, but it was the slog most of his starts have been of late.

Pecko, even with his bumpy first four innings, was given a bunch of rope in the fifth, and fortunately, the Yankees made him pay. Rice used ABS to get himself on base with a walk with one out, which set up García to hammer a 3-2 cutter at the top of the zone into the short porch for his fourth homer as a Yankee to briefly give the Bombers a 5-3 lead after five.

Fernando Cruz was given a clean inning in the sixth, but his outing was anything but. A one-out walk to Diaz came back to haunt him, as he grooved a 2-1 fastball to Peña, who snuck a game-tying two-run home run over the left-field fence, continuing the recent struggles of Cruz. With the lack of a deadline upgrade, the Yankees are not really in a position to afford this sudden regression in the bullpen.

A quiet sixth against Bennett Sousa gave the Astros a chance to take the lead against Yerry de los Santos in the seventh, but the righty worked around a leadoff walk to keep the game tied. He’s a guy who can earn himself some leverage situations with effective play. Against the tough lefty Steven Okert, a trio of Yankee lefties put together some great ABs. Grisham worked a walk, Rice lined a single, and García did it again with a double down the right-field line to make it 6-5. They had a chance for more, but a good play by Peña on a contact play and Bryan Abreu coming in to get Lombard ended the inning.

Brent Headrick got the eighth for the Yanks, and with the way this game was going, you kinda felt like this was going to happen. After striking out the pinch-hitting Cam Smith, Diaz shot a fastball on the outside corner towards the short porch, which got out for his second home run of the game, tying it at six. Of all the guys on the team who could’ve hit two of them tonight, he’s not high up on that list, having not done so since April 1, 2024.

Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there. Peña ripped a single with two outs after barely holding up on a check swing that would’ve ended the inning to set up Yordan, who hit another bullet into the right-center field gap for an RBI triple. A laboring Headrick ended his night by allowing an RBI single to Paredes to make it 8-6 Astros, needing Bradley Hanner to mop up the rest of the frame.

It wasn’t quite over yet. Jones hit a bullet double to start the inning off Abreu and was able to come around and score on an RBI single by Chisholm. You wondered whether Jazz would try to steal to get the tying run in scoring position, but the AL leader in stolen bases stayed home and paid for it when Wells hit into a double play. Caballero reached on an infield single to force Josh Hader into the game, who struck out Grisham.

Hanner was tasked with getting this one to the bottom of the ninth, which he did, but not without giving up a run on a Smith triple and another RBI by Diaz, who really hurt them all night long. Hader recorded just his third four-out save in the last 10 months (two against the Yankees, typical) to close it out.

The Yankees will look to get back on track tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. against the Astros. Peter Lambert will go for the visitors against a pitcher to be determined, but it’s assumed that Elmer Rodríguez will be recalled to pitch in some capacity.

Box Score

The Braves have had a massive power outage — their recent skid has seen their run-scoring capabilities wither without the ball leaving the yard. Tonight, though — and perhaps just tonight, but emphatically so — it didn’t matter. The Braves found just enough to skitter past the Dodgers, 4-3, in a game that featured some single-laden rallies, a key knock by Ozzie Albies, and Raisel Iglesias surviving a critical outfield defensive miscue in the ninth inning.

Bryce Elder was on the hill tonight after having his turn in the rotation skipped due to some knee pain. He breezed through the first, but opposing starter Tyler Glasnow, making his first start since early May due to lingering back spasms, was not so fortunate.

Drake Baldwin started the home half of the first by skirting a single through the infield. Matt Olson then followed with a weak bouncer that got by Freddie Freeman at first base, putting runners on the corners. Mauricio Dubon, batting cleanup for the third time this season (and first since early July), battled Glasnow and then dunked a single into right field on a knuckle curve that was going to hit the dirt — 1-0, Braves. Michael Harris II followed with another roller through the infield, even weaker than Olson’s, doubling the lead. Albies followed with a sac fly on a hanging knuckle curve to make it 3-0.

Then a weird thing happened. With Harris at third and a 3-1 count on Mike Yastrzemski, Glasnow lost control of a fastball and basically spiked it towards Yastrzemski’s shin. That didn’t deter the Braves’ left fielder from swinging at it and missing horribly, nor the Dodgers’ catcher from also whiffing on the pitch. Harris would have and should have scored easily, except… the result was inexplicably ruled a foul, despite the egregious amount by which Yastrzemski’s hack missed the pitch. Apparently, this isn’t reviewable, so the Braves didn’t get a fourth run… at least not there. To add insult to insult, Yastrzemski was rung up after the next pitch was challenged and found to barely clip the zone.

After all that early drama, it was the Dodgers’ turn to bloop their way to some runs. Birthday boy Max Muncy started the top of the second with a solid single off Elder; three bloop singles later in the inning made it a 3-2 game. To make it stupider, both of the RBI bloops were on pitches basically below the zone. That brought up Shohei Ohtani with two on and two out, but Elder managed to freeze him on a pretty blatant 3-2 fastball around the knees, though it required an ABS challenge to end the frame.

I don’t know if Glasnow was just shaking off some rust or fell subject to the dreaded road pitcher first inning penalty, but he came out firing for much of the rest of the game. (Alternatively, you could say he just didn’t get BABIPed anymore.) He struck out the side in the second, got a strikeout and two foulouts in the third, and struck out two more in the fourth. He departed after five, with a 7/0 K/BB ratio.

Meanwhile, Elder’s day was much more BABIP-y, even after that initial rally. Though he had a 1-2-3 third, the Dodgers tied the game in the fourth on a leadoff single, a steal, and a one-out bloop to center. Another single brought up the Ohtani-Elder matchup again with men on base, but this time Ohtani hit a soft liner to left to end the rally. Elder had another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, but seemed to totter a bit in the sixth. He hit the leadoff guy, and there was yet another bloop single. But, he buckled down and ended his day with two strikeouts.

It was an odd but ultimately fortuitous and effective outing for Elder. For much of his major league tenure, there’s been a persistent issue with his times-through-the-order splits, especially against left-handed batters. Here, the Braves let him face Ohtani multiple times in key spots, but he came through. They similarly could’ve pulled him at any time in the sixth after he hit the leadoff guy, but they didn’t, and he found the two key strikeouts he needed to secure one of his better starts of the year (5/0 K/BB ratio). It’s not the sort of thing that the Braves have been rewarded for often, but it happened tonight.

So, onto the bottom of the sixth we went. Alex Vesia had no trouble with the Braves’ bats. Dylan Lee had little trouble with the Dodgers’ bats in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh, the Braves managed a mini-rally with Sean Murphy drawing a two-out walk against Jack Dreyer and Baldwin following with a hard grounder single. That brought up Ronald Acuña Jr. and summoned Evan Phillips out of the Dodger bullpen. Acuña battled to 3-2 and then smashed a sweeper 112 mph, but unfortunately he hit it right at Mookie Betts at shortstop.

The eighth saw something that probably had Braves fans tearing their hair out: tie game, and here comes… Victor Mederos? It looked brilliant for a second, as Mederos got a one-pitch popout and then struck out Kyle Tucker. But, then he walked back-to-back hitters. With a lefty due up, the Braves went to Dylan Dodd and the Dodgers pinch hit with Miguel Rojas, but all that happened was a soft fly to end the inning (mercifully not a bloop hit).

Tanner Scott, in the midst of a great season, was the Dodgers’ choice for the bottom of the eighth. Olson greeted him with a hard slice the other way that went for a belly flop double. Dubon squared to bunt against Scott, then pulled the bat back and… hit a sub-50 mph, basically-a-bunt grounder that pushed Olson to third with one out. Harris followed and swung at a first-pitch slider that was running way in on him and hit another sub-50 mph grounder that didn’t score Olson. So, up came Albies, and he delivered the game-winning turnabout, blooping a 2-0 hanging slider into center at 77 mph to push Olson across. The Braves got that long-deferred fourth run after all.

Oh, but we weren’t done yet. More drama came, almost immediately. With the Braves now having a lead, Raisel Iglesias trotted out for the ninth. Ohtani took a 1-0 sinker outside and bashed it the other way. It could have and should have been caught, but Lane Thomas was as awkward as my AIM conversations when I was 12 years old out in left field, and had the ball carom off his glove instead of just catching the ball at the wall. Ohtani never stopped running and made it to third.

But, not to worry! (Apparently.) Iglesias struck out Freeman on a changeup. Betts fell behind 0-2 and then chopped a sinker into the ground, where it bounced neatly to Dubon for the second out. After giving the birthday gift of an intentional walk to Muncy, Iglesias began his battle with Tommy Edman. On the fifth pitch, he threw him a fairly meaty fastball, but Edman weakly lifted it to center, where it fell into Harris’ glove to end the game.

It’s a welcome win for many reasons, in large part because the Braves overcame a huge defensive miscue and managed to come out on top without the longball. The offensive issues persist, but they won’t lose ground tonight. The Phillies are tied with the Mariners at the time of writing.

It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest gathering of night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re so glad you decided to stop by. Please come on in and sit with us for a while. There’s no cover charge. We have a few tables available. There’s a two-drink minimum, but you need to bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night, I asked you if one of the Cubs top prospects, catcher Owen Ayers, should make his major-league debut when the rosters expand on September 1. Most of you were against it, as 74 percent of you said “no.”

On that front, the Cubs signed free agent catcher Austin Wynns today. Wynns had been designated for assignment by the Rangers last week. So that gives Iowa a second catcher if the Cubs want to call up Ayers. Or they could call up Wynns, I presume, if they just want a third catcher.

On Tuesday nights, I don’t normally do any movie stuff. But I always have time for jazz, so let’s take a break for that now.

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Tonight we’re featuring vocalist Samara Joy in studio performing “You Stepped Out of a Dream” in 2024. A great performance of a jazz standard, written by Nacio Herb Brown and Gus Kahn in 1940.

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Yesterday I asked you the straightforward question of whether or not the Cubs should call up catcher Owen Ayers when rosters expand on September 1. Tonight, I’m going to try to tackle the much more thorny issue of what to do with the pitching staff.

The Cubs bullpen currently looks like this:

Aaron Civale RHP

Daniel Palencia RHP

Colin Rea RHP

Ryan Rolison LHP

Caleb Thielbar LHP

Trent Thornton RHP

Jacob Webb RHP

Ryan Zeferjahn RHP

Down in Iowa, left-hander Hoby Milner is on a rehab assignment and will have to be activated by this weekend. There’s a lot of speculation of whom Milner might replace, with the possibility of Thielbar being designated for assignment. However, Palencia, Rolison and Zeferjahn still have minor league options, and the Cubs could decide to send one of them down. In any case, if one of them goes down, they can’t be brought back up to the majors for fifteen days unless there’s an injury. Of course, you can almost always find an injury in a pitching staff.

So let’s assume that Milner is activated on Friday, when his 30-day rehab assignment is ahead of roster expansion. Someone either gets released or sent down to the minors for 15 days. Who should then get called up on Tuesday?

One possibility is Shelby Miller, who has been terrific in his rehab appearances for the Iowa Cubs this past month. The Cubs signed Miller this past winter to a two-year deal as he was coming off of elbow surgery. He was expected to miss all of 2026 and pitch for the Cubs in 2027. However, his rehab has been ahead of schedule.

So far in Iowa, Miller has made six rehab appearances, five for Iowa and one for Double-A Knoxville. In that time, he’s pitched 5.2 innings and has allowed three runs for an ERA of 4.76. That doesn’t sound that great, except in that time Miller has struck out ten batters and walked just one. His fastball was sitting 95 miles per hour and his splitter came in at 86-87 in his last appearance. He has not allowed a run in his last two appearances.

Another possibility for a call-up is right-hander Ethan Roberts, who has become kind of a forgotten man in the organization. Roberts didn’t pitch all that well in the majors this year, which got him sent down to the minors on August 9. Down in Triple-A, his results have been better, posting an 0-1 record with a sparkling 2.21 ERA in 19 appearances. In 20.1 innings, Roberts has struck out 22 batters and walked eight, and giving up too much contact and walking too many batters was one of Roberts’ biggest issues in the majors this year. But one of the strongest arguments for calling up Roberts is that he still has an option, which means he could be sent back down to Iowa once someone like Ben Brown or Justin Steele is ready to return to the majors.

A third possibility is Javier Assad. Assad got sent down to the minors, despite pitching well in the majors, primarily because he still had an option and because the Cubs wanted to keep his stretched out so he’d be ready to start again in case of another injury. Assad might be the best pitcher to call up, but it would also mean he probably wouldn’t be stretched out to start if necessary.

Finally, there is the wild card of Jaxon Wiggins. The Cubs’ top pitching prospect coming into this season has battled injuries, but he’s fully healthy right now. He’s also been moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen in case the Cubs needed him this September. Wiggins’ line this year doesn’t look like someone ready to make his major league debut. He has an 8.31 ERA in 26 innings in Iowa. His ERA in his first five starts after returning to Iowa from the IL is 12.21.

However, since Wiggins has been moved to the bullpen, he’s made four appearances and has allowed no runs and no hits over four innings. Can’t get much better than that. OK, the four walks could be better, but Wiggins has also struck out seven in those four innings. He’s looked dominating out of the pen in Triple-A.

The downside to calling up Wiggins is that he’d have to be added to the 40-man roster, although Gavin Hollowell could always go to the 60-day IL. However, he has to be added to the 40-man this winter anyway to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. (Assuming there is one.) He also has options and could be sent back down to Iowa if and when Ben Brown or Justin Steele are ready to return.

So which pitcher would you call up on September 1 when rosters expand?

Thanks for stopping by tonight. It’s been nice hosting you. Please get home safely. Tell your friends about us. Don’t forget any personal items. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.