Category: Sports News

It’s Wednesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Please come in and sit with us for a while. There’s no cover charge. We validate parking. There are still a few tables available. The hostess will seat you now. 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 you thought Pete Crow-Armstrong would reach the rarified “40-40” mark this year. You all were quite optimistic, as 63 percent of you thought he’ll get there.

Here’s the part where we listen to music and talk movies. You’re free to skip ahead if you want. Or you’re free to join us.

Tonight we’re featuring guitarist Julian Lage with the SFJAZZ ensemble in 2025. John Medeski is on organ, Jorge Roeder is the bassist and the drummer is Kenny Wollesen.

This is a nice bit of funky fusion for those of you who like that. This is “Speak to Me.”

Sorry I don’t have a movie to talk about tonight, so I’m going to throw the floor open to you.

I wrote about The Roaring Twenties on Monday night, so tonight I thought I’d just ask you for your favorite gangster films. In particular, I’m curious as to whether you think one of the first two Godfather films is the greatest gangster movie of all-time (and which one) or whether you lean towards Goodfellas. Or maybe one of you will put in a bid for Infernal Affairs or its US remake, The Departed. (I don’t remember who did it, but a while ago one of you suggested that I watch Infernal Affairs and to whomever made that recommendation, thank you.)

There are a lot of other great gangster films, both classic and more modern. There are those who argue that Bonnie and Clyde is among the most important American films ever made, as it heralded the end of the old studio system and the Production Code and ushered in the New Hollywood Era of the late-sixties and seventies. That’s an era that many think is the golden era of American filmmaking.

I haven’t seen Miller’s Crossing in a long time, but I remember it being very good. I don’t think Casino is as good as Goodfellas, but it is pretty darn good. There are both versions of Scarface, although I think the Pacino version is too over-the-top. I guess that’s part of the appeal. Going back to the 1930s, The Public Enemy and Little Caesar are stone-cold classics.

There’s The Untouchables, which I haven’t seen in a while but which gives up the phrase “That’s the Chicago way!” There’s also that scene that’s an homage/rip-off of Battleship Potemkin.

Bugsy Malone has a certain insane charm that has never been recreated and never will be. If you’re familiar with the film, you know what I’m talking about.

So what great gangster films am I missing?

Welcome back to all of you who skip the music and movies.

The Cubs gave up a heck of a lot to get right-hander Clay Holmes for the final two months of the season and the playoffs. Infielder Jefferson Rojas was one of the Cubs top two prospects and he certainly has the potential to be an everyday regular and maybe even an All-Star. But after a poor first start with the Cubs (and we can forgive that since it was his first start in three months after an broken leg), he’s been nails in his two most recent starts.

Even before the Cubs made the deal for Holmes, there was a lot of talk about how Holmes was perfect for the Cubs. As an extreme ground ball pitcher, few pitchers are as well suited for the Cubs elite infield defense as Holmes. Over Holmes last two starts, he’s thrown 12 innings and has allowed just one run.

So the question is, should the Cubs make a long-term commitment to Clay Holmes? He’s a free agent at the end of the year. Right now, none of the current Cubs starters are under contract for next year. The Cubs rotation in 2027, if they don’t sign anyone else, is:

Edward Cabrera

Ben Brown

Javier Assad

Justin Steele (if healthy)

Cade Horton (if healthy)

Jordan Wicks (??)

Braxton Garrett (??)

So clearly the Cubs are going to have to sign some starters this winter. Should Clay Holmes be one of them?

In this article, written when Holmes was still a Met, estimated that Holmes would sign a deal for three years and between $60 and $75 million. (The Athletic sub. req.) Of course, the uncertainty of the upcoming lockout and the collective bargaining talks complicates things. But would you make that commitment to Holmes?

Holmes turns 34 in the offseason. That means that any three-year deal with Holmes would take him through his age-36 season. If you’re worried about age-related decline, you might not want to re-sign Holmes. But Holmes has been remarkably healthy throughout his career. Yes, he just missed three months, but that was the biggest injury of his career and it came on a comebacker that broke his fibula. That’s a freak injury and not the sign of someone who is injury prone. His other trips to the injured list in his career have been short, with the longest one coming in 2022 for back spasms. He missed three weeks that time.

So let’s say Holmes would sign a three-year, $70 million extension. If you were Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins, would you make that offer? Would you offer more?

I apologize for the crappy way this question is posted. This feed polling system doesn’t allow for many characters and options. I hope you know what I’m asking. If not, ask for clarification in the comments.

By the way, I also apologize for using a photo of Holmes in a Mets uniform. But I have a policy of only using photos taken at night for After Dark for thematic reasons and Holmes hasn’t pitched a night game for the Cubs yet!

Thank you for stopping by, both tonight and all week. I hope we’ve made your evenings a little brighter. Please get home safely. Stay cool and dry out there. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.

Arguably, the biggest moment of the Yankees' 5-3 win over the Orioles on Wednesday was Pete Alonso's would-be go-ahead home run that was called foul.

The Orioles slugger already hit a solo shot earlier in the game, but was up in the seventh in a tied game with two outs. Yankees reliever Brent Headrick threw an 84 mph slider over the heart of the plate. Alonso smashed the pitch to left field for what looked to give the Orioles the lead, but third base umpire Will Little called it foul.

A crew chief review ensued as everyone waited for MLB's Replay Official to make a decision. After a few minutes, the call was upheld to the shock of Alonso and the rest of the Orioles. 

The Orioles couldn't believe this potential go-ahead home run from Pete Alonso was called foul. 😳 pic.twitter.com/Wb8Q3AZT6d

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 20, 2026

"You definitely never know what they're gonna rule. But I was really surprised that it came back 'stands,'" Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said after the game. 

"Just based on the video, the Hawkeye had it fair in the dugout," Alonso said. "From what it looked like, it was to the right of the pole. What I was told, in order to overturn a call, you need to have two camera angles to confirm it. The only view that shows it fair or foul was down the line, but no other camera angle is available."

"After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official could not definitively determine that the ball left the playing field in fair territory," a statement on Alonso's homer from MLB's Replay Command Center read. "The call stands, and it is a foul ball."

Alonso would strike out two pitches later and the Yankees rallied to put up two runs in the top of the eighth to take the lead and hold on for the win. The Orioles slugger, while disappointed, gave the Yankees credit for doing what needed to be done to win.

"It is what it is. The video room and the umpire at third base, that’s the only opinions that really made it happen," Alonso said. "Kudos to [the Yankees] for breaking the tie that next half-inning. They executed and they bared down and got it down. And we didn’t." 

"It’s 2026, I think technology advanced pretty good," Albernaz said. "There’s teams using AI on the iPads and other sports use ball-tracking data for challengeable calls. Don’t understand why we don’t do it, but it’s not why we lost the game. But that moment was a big moment, and takes away a home run from us and Pete as well."

The Yankees were 2-for-11 with RISP, which included George Lombard Jr.'s go-ahead single in the eighth, while the Orioles were 0-for-6. 

From the New York side, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked about the call after the game and revealed that Brett Weber, who handles replays for the team, had the ball as foul. 

"We were unsure and then Webby looked out after the game. And he’s got a foul," Boone said. "Sorry, Pete."

"When I went towards the line, I thought it was foul," Headrick said. "You never know in that situation the way it’s hooking. You never know what’s going to be called. Obviously, we’re glad to see that it was foul. We’ll take it."

The win extended the Yankees' streak to three games and kept pace with the Rays, who also won Wednesday. New York remains 5.0 games behind Tampa Bay for the AL East crown while the Yankees gained a game on the Red Sox for the top AL wild card spot, now 3.5 games ahead of their division rivals.

BALTIMORE — Major League Baseball now uses technology to confirm or overturn balls and strikes.

Is it time for something similar around the foul poles?

The Baltimore Orioles certainly felt aggrieved Wednesday night against the Yankees after Pete Alonso’s deep fly to left field in the seventh inning was ruled foul — and the call was upheld on a review.

The play occurred with the game tied at 3. The Yankees then scored twice in top of the eighth and went on to win 5-3.

“I think a simple fix is like football, you have the pylon camera with the plane, where it shoots right across the goal line,” Alonso said. “And I feel like, for us, we could easily have a laser or a camera that shoots straight up.”

Manager Craig Albernaz shared Alonso’s frustration.

“On the dugout iPads there’s ball-tracking data with the field that the players see, so it’s really tough to have that (call) come back as ‘stands’ and have that visual in the dugout as well. It’s 2026,” Albernaz said. “There are teams using AI on the iPads and other sports use ball-tracking data for challengeable calls. Don’t understand why we don’t do it.”

At least one replay seemed to show the ball on the fair side of the pole, but it wasn’t clear what angle that shot was from.

“What I was told is in order to overturn a call, you need to have two camera angles to confirm it,” Alonso said. “But the best view, the only view that shows the ball fair or foul is the one down the line, but no other camera angle is available. So video room rules it foul, umpire obviously called it foul initially. It is what it is.”

It might have been easier for the umpire — and the replay room — to make the call if Alonso’s hit hadn’t been so high. It appeared to tower above the foul pole at one point.

“That we don’t have the technology in place to actually say, ‘Hey, this was fair or foul,’ is literally crazy in 2026. It’s crazy,” said Chris Bassitt, Baltimore’s starting pitcher Wednesday.

Bassitt then blamed financial considerations for why such technology isn’t used.

“Because it would cost money,” he said. “That’s it. I mean, that’s literally it.”

Given it was their final meeting of 2026 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Colorado Rockies wanted to finish this series with a win.

Certainly, they put up a good fight — this was their best game of the series — but it wasn’t enough, and the Dodgers won, 6-4, completing the sweep. Before the game ended, the Rockies had struck out 15 times.

The Dodgers are now 77-51 while the Rockies fall to 50-77.

”We’re getting there,“ manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game. ”There’s a ton of good stuff that happened tonight.“

Such is the nature of a rebuild.

The Rockies offense just wasn’t enough

The Rockies managed to get their first baserunner in the first inning when Mickey Moniak jumped on a Roki Sasaki fastball — the first one he had thrown in the game. However, with two outs remaining, the Rockies were unable to capitalize.

The Dodgers began accumulating hits as well in the second when Mookie Betts and Kyle Tucker singled. Following that, Kiké Hernández singled to drive in Betts and give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

In their half of the second, the Rockies had another double as Connor Norby sent a ball into left field. Norby was at third when Brett Sullivan walked with two outs, and Ezequiel Tovar stepped to the plate. But it was for naught as Sullivan attempted to steal second and was thrown out, leaving the Rockies scoreless.

The third inning found Moniak hitting a single with two outs, but the Rockies (again) were unable to capitalize.

Betts expanded the Dodgers lead to 2-0 when he went yard in the fourth inning, his 16th homer of the season.

Things did not improve from there.

Following a Tucker single, Kiké Hernández hit the Dodgers second home run of the inning (and his second of the season), and the score was 4-0 Dodgers.

After that, Freeland got Rortvedt to line out before shaking his arm. He was immediately removed from the game, and Schaeffer called to the Rockies bullpen and rookie Mark Manfredi.

TJ Rumfield hit a lead-off single to kick off the Rockies half of the fourth, and Norby followed that with his second double of the inning with one out. And then Adael Amador came through with a two-RBI double.

The Rockies were unable to plate additional runners, but they were on the board, and Sasaki was at 83 pitches when the inning ended. The score was 4-2 Dodgers.

Neither team scored in the fifth, but it was Sasaki’s last of the game. His final line: 5.0 IP with two runs (earned) on seven hits. He walked one and struck out six on 99 pitches.

Nick Frasso pitched the sixth, facing his former team — and he made quick work of them, allowing one hit but getting two fly outs before striking out Shohei Ohtani.

In their half of the sixth, the Rockies were unable to gain any traction against Brock Steward, and the score remained 4-2 Dodgers.

Schaeffer had Frasso handle the seventh as well, which he did, allowing one hit but no runs.

Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia almost made quick work of the Rockies in the bottom of the seventh. But then he walked Jake McCarthy followed by throwing a four seamer to Moniak that he sent over the right-field wall for his 20th homer of 2026.

And then the game was tied at four.

”That ain’t easy to do,“ Schaeffer said of the at-bat. “I’m proud of Mickey. I’m proud of all of them.”

Reactivated earlier in the day, Jaden Hill handled the eighth inning with authority, allowing one fly ball and striking out two.

Dave Roberts went with Jack Dreyer in the eighth, and he promptly issued a lead-off walk to Rumfield. Following that, pinch hitter Jordan Beck flew out to right. Then Norby and Amador struck out to end the inning.

With the score tied, Schaeffer turned to his closer, Jordan Romano, who never lost a beat in working through the Dodgers 9-1-2 hitters — including a sick strikeout of Ohtani. (Come on, MLB Film Room. Make the clip available.) It was the rare evening when Ohtani did not manage a hit at Coors Field.

Looking to prevent a Rockies walk-off, Roberts sent Kyle Hurt to the mound for the ninth inning.

Sullivan lined out for the first out, and Schaeffer sent in Willi Castro to pinch hit for Tovar, but he struck out swinging. McCarthy managed to beat the throw to first (thanks to the Rockies challenging the call), which brought Moniak to the plate.

He struck out, and the game went to extras.

With Pages the ghost runner on second, Jimmy Herget faced Teoscar Hernández that moved Pages to third. A Freddie Freeman sacrifice fly gave the Dodgers a 5-4 lead. Betts followed that with a double to make the score 6-4. It was a solid night for Betts who had three hits, including two RBI, and two runs. McCarthy got the second out, and Schaeffer went to lefty Brennan Bernadino to face Tucker. He flew out to right, and the Rockies headed to their half of the 10th, down 6-4.

The Dodgers returned to LHP Tanner Scott, who threw 27 pitches the night before. He got Cole Carrigg and Rumfield out on one pitch each.

With that, all eyes turned to Jordan Beck.

It took six pitches, but Scott struck Beck out to finish the game.

The Rockies finished the night with four runs on nine hits. They had three walks and struck out 15 times. (Only Rumfield, Beck, and Sullivan did not strike out.)

Kyle Freeland leaves early

Freeland got off to a brisk start that saw him facing the minimum and retiring them on nine pitches.

However, his pitch count quickly rose in the second inning and hit 30 before the Rockies managed to get three outs. After getting through the third inning and giving up two home runs in the fourth, he was abruptly removed from the game due to an apparent injury.

His final line was 3.2 IP with four runs (all earned) on six hits. He walked one and struck out six.

Later, the Rockies announced that Freeland left with neck tightness.

Schaeffer had no additional details after the game.

The bullpen (mostly) shines

The bullpen took over in the fourth inning, and they were solid.

Mark Manfredi made his MLB debut after being called up earlier in the day — and the first batter he faced was Shohei Ohtani, whom he promptly walked with two outs. Manfredi then gave up a single to Andy Pages, but got Teoscar Hernández to fly out to Zac Veen ended the inning. In the fifth inning, Manfredi tallied his first MLB strikeout with Freddie Freeman.

He followed that with a flyout and striking out Miguel Rojas. Not bad.

Manfredi’s final line was 1.1 IP, allowing one hit but no runs. He also walked one and struck out two on 19 pitches.

“That was really cool to see him coming in there,” Schaeffer said. “I thought he threw the ball exceptionally well.” Then he added, “That’s what makes this game so great.”

Former Dodger Nick Frasso’s final numbers were 2.0 IP allowing no runs on two hits. He struck out two and did not issue any walks on 28 pitches. However, he did have a pitch-clock violation.

Jaden Hill picked off where he left off with a spotless inning that included two Ks. He threw 12 pitches.

”It’s good to have him back,“ Schaeffer said.

Not to be outdone, Romano handled the ninth with a fly out and two Ks on eight pitches.

As for Jimmy Herget, it was not the night he wanted. In 0.2 IP, he allowed two runs on two hits in the 10th inning.

Brennan Bernadino went 0.1 IP. He faced one batter and did not allow a hit.

Next up

The Rockies have an off day tomorrow, but we’ll be back on Friday, same Bat Time, same Bat Station, at 6:40 pm.

That’s when the Rockies will welcome José Ramírez and the Cleveland Guardians to Coors Field. Starting pitchers are slated to be Joey Cantillo and Tanner Gordon.

See you then — and look for more articles on Purple Row tomorrow!

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

The Dodgers needed 28 innings to complete a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies, as they took the finale 6-4 in a 10-inning affair on Wednesday.

The Dodgers were the first to start the scoring for a third consecutive game, as after an infield single from Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker and Kiké Hernández smacked a pair of two-out singles to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead against Kyle Freeland in the top of the second. It was Hernández’s first RBI since May 26, where he hit a solo home run against Freeland.

Freeland worked around a two-out walk to Teoscar Hernández for a scoreless third inning, but Betts got to him again in the top of the fourth as he launched the fourth home run against him in his career, giving the Dodgers a two-run lead. It was Betts’ first home run at Coors Field since June 28, 2023.

After Tucker slapped his second single against Freeland, Kiké Hernández launched a sky scraping fly ball just over the left field wall to extend the lead to four runs. Hernández now has two home run and five RBI on the season— both home runs and four RBI have come against Freeland. Freeland got Ben Rortvedt to line out for the second out, but after clutching his back, his night was done after tossing just 66 pitches. Kevin Harvey of the Denver Gazette reported that Freeland left the game due to neck tightness.

Mark Manfredi came in relief of Freeland, making his major league debut, and after allowing a pair of two-out baserunners, he retired the next four men he saw. His first career strikeout at the big league level came against Freddie Freeman in the top of the fifth, giving the Dodgers first baseman a three-strikeout game after going 5-8 over the first two games of the series.

It was a bounce back outing for Roki Sasaki, as he managed keep his strong second half of the season alive. Sasaki faced trouble in the bottom of the second, as a walk to Brett Sullivan put men on the corners with two outs. Sullivan tried taking second base on the first pitch to Ezequiel Tovar, but a strong throw from Ben Rortvedt gunned him down to get Sasaki out of trouble.

The Rockies put runners at second and third with just one out against Sasaki in the bottom of the fourth inning, and a bad route from Teoscar Hernández on a line drive from Adael Amador cost Sasaki the chances of a scoreless outing. Sasaki held on to retire five of the next six hitters he faced, but his night was over after tossing 99 pitches over five innings.

Seven hits were the most that Sasaki had allowed in any start since the All-Star break, and it was the first time that Sasaki failed to get through six full innings for the first time in August. Despite that, he was able to limit the walks from five in his previous start to just one on Wednesday, with the strikeouts increasing from two to six. Sasaki has now lowered his ERA to 4.42 on the year, which includes a remarkable 2.63 ERA over his last seven starts.

Brock Stewart made his return from injury, tossing a perfect bottom of the sixth inning while striking out two.

Former Dodgers prospect Nick Frasso faced the Dodgers for the first time in his career, as he went two scoreless innings while allowing just one hit— a double to Freeman— and picking up a pair of strikeouts.

Alex Vesia was one out away from a perfect bottom of the seventh inning, but after allowing a two-out, four pitch walk to Jake McCarthy, Mickey Moniak made him pay with a towering two-run home run to right field, evening the score at four.

Jack Dreyer and Kyle Hurt kept Colorado at bay over the eighth and ninth innings respectively, while the Dodgers offense couldn’t collect anything against both Jaden Hill and Jordan Romano, leading to an extra inning affair. Teoscar Hernández put runners at the corners to begin the 10th inning with a single to left, and Freddie Freeman brought home the ghost runner Pages with a sacrifice fly, giving the Dodgers the lead and their first run since the fourth inning. Mookie Betts made it a two-run inning with an RBI single to center field, giving him a three-hit game.

After getting two quick outs on two pitches, Tanner Scott needed seven pitches to strike out Jordan Beck and lock up his 18th save of the season.

The Dodgers finish the season series against the Rockies with a 10-3 record, sweeping them once at home and on the road. With the Milwaukee Brewers falling to the Seattle Mariners, the Dodgers are now 1 1/2 games back for the best record in the National League.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Mookie Betts (16), Kiké Hernández (2); Mickey Moniak (20)
• WP— Kyle Hurt (4-1): 1 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
• LP— Jimmy Herget (0-5): 2/3 IP, 2 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 0 walks, 0 strikeouts
• SV— Tanner Scott (18): 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout

Up next

The Dodgers are off on Thursday and will be back at home on Friday to open a three-game set against the Pittsburgh Pirates (7:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Yoshinobu Yamamoto faces right-hander Bubba Chandler.

The Yankees are hoping they've avoided another potential injury after Ryan McMahon was pulled from Wednesday's game against the Orioles with an apparent thumb injury.

With New York down 1-0 in the second, McMahon laced an RBI single to right field. The third baseman tried to stretch the hit into a double and jammed his left thumb into second base as he was tagged out. McMahon writhed in pain before he walked to the dugout. 

McMahon would come out to play defense and take a few at-bats after, finishing 1-for-3, but was ultimately pulled later in the game.

Ryan McMahon ties the game with a single but was tagged out trying to stretch it into a double and hurt his left hand pic.twitter.com/DE1K6WHcgJ

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 19, 2026

"He’s getting an X-ray now. We’ll see what we have there," Aaron Boone said after the 5-3 win. 

The Yankees skipper said McMahon was ok to play defense, but the third baseman admitted that he couldn't grip the bat very well, and with the game as close as it was, it was probably best to pinch-hit for him.

" After his next at-bat, it felt like in a tie game he wasn’t gripping the bat great," Boone said. "So I was going to do it no matter what." 

Jose Caballero wound up pinch-hitting for McMahon in the eighth with runners on first and second and two outs. Caballero was hit by a pitch to prolong the inning for George Lombard Jr. to come through with an infield single to break the tie. 

McMahon spoke with the media, including MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, after the game and said that his left thumb was "a little sore" but that the initial results of the X-ray are positive. While he hopes to play in Thursday's series finale, it'll depend on how he feels. He also expects more testing to be done in the coming days. 

"I jammed it in there pretty good," McMahon said. "As the game went on, I wasn't able to bend it much."

The Orioles have right-hander Kyle Bradish on the mound Thursday, so McMahon would start under normal circumstances. If he's unable to go or the Yankees are cautious with their third baseman, Caballero will likely get the start at the hot corner.

BALTIMORE — Ryan McMahon exited Wednesday’s 5-3 win over the Orioles in the top of the eighth with a left-hand injury suffered sliding into second base in the top of the second.

The third baseman, who initially remained in the game, underwent X-rays that McMahon said didn’t show any damage, although there will be more testing Thursday.

“It’s a little sore,’’ McMahon said of his thumb, which got caught on the slide when he was thrown out trying to stretch an RBI single into a double.

As the game went on, McMahon said there was more swelling, so he let Aaron Boone know, and with the game tied in the top of the eighth, Boone opted to pinch hit José Caballero for McMahon with two on and two out.

Caballero ended up getting hit by a pitch to load the bases, and George Lombard Jr. followed with a go-ahead infield single.

McMahon said he hopes not to miss much time.

Despite their ongoing issues at the plate — the Yankees entered Wednesday with the second-worst OPS and second-fewest runs scored in the majors since losing Aaron Judge to a fractured rib — Boone strongly defended his hitting coaches.

“I think they’re great,’’ Boone said. “As a group headed by [hitting coach James Rowson], they’re very prepared. I think they work very hard. I think they’re providing the right things. Look, it’s been a struggle. I get it. I have a ton of confidence in our leadership there. We’ve just had a hard time getting results, but watching how they go about it, how they prepare, watching things said in meetings, watching what they’re giving players, [I have] a ton of confidence.”

Even so, Boone acknowledged he didn’t anticipate the prolonged funk the lineup has found itself in.

“It’s surprising,’’ Boone said. “We have some key pieces missing. With that creates challenges. We have a number of guys in a pretty good place, but they’ve probably all underperformed what I think they are individually. Hopefully that levels out moving forward because we do expect to be better.”

Perhaps the return of Cody Bellinger, who is scheduled to play in a minor league rehab game with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, will help.

But there is still no known timeline for Judge’s return.

“We’ve had a hard time for us, results-wise,’’ Boone said. “I don’t think it’s a result of who’s leading them.”

Boone said Max Fried had “another good day” Wednesday after being placed on the 15-day IL Monday with what was termed an elbow bone bruise but is actually inflammation near the elbow.

The Yankees traded catcher Christian Bethancourt to the Pirates for cash.

He appeared in eight games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after signing a minor league deal with the Yankees last month following his release by the Cubs.

The 34-year-old Bethancourt was part of a catching group at SWB that includes another veteran, Mitch Garver, and J.C. Escarra.

Garver was signed to a minor league deal following his release by Seattle earlier this month after the Yankees were unable to trade for a catcher.

He entered Wednesday 2-for-8 in three games with SWB.

While Austin Wells has hit better of late — and continued to perform well defensively — Ali Sánchez has mostly struggled in a backup role.

Bethancourt last appeared in the majors with Chicago in 2024.

Don’t look now, but the Braves have a real division race on their hands after leading solidly for most of the season. This comes with a tough stretch of games incoming against the White Sox, Brewers, and Dodgers. The Braves aren’t playing especially well right now and fWAR doesn’t indicate that they should be leading the division at all, although run differential does. The offense continues to dramatically underperform its potential and theoretical talent level, which it has really since the all-time great season in 2023 for various reasons. The rotation is a known issue and the bullpen hasn’t been as dominant of late, still missing Robert Suarez. The Braves find themselves in a vulnerable position here in late August, even as they maintain a 4.5 game cushion in the division and a 7.5 game cushion in the wild-card (though let’s really hope that number never becomes relevant). If they finish strongly this year, it may be another offseason of significant flux for Atlanta, setting aside the CBA drama.

Braves News

Matt Powers recapped the Braves’ lowest level minor league affiliate’s season, including a number of major IFA signings.

The Braves lost their third straight to the Twins as they head off for a single game against the White Sox and then a two-series gauntlet against the best two teams in baseball.

MLB News

The Phillies signed once-Yankee starter Nestor Cortes, as he works his way back from arm surgery.

The Yankees traded cash to the Pirates for one-time Braves top prospect Christian Bethancourt.

Mets’ infielder Jorge Polanco will get season-ending ankle surgery.

BALTIMORE – Pete Alonso struck the ball so high and so far, the foul pole wasn’t high enough to stop it. It exited so quickly, third base umpire Will Little was reduced to guesswork as he hustled down the line to make a snap decision.

Yet the Baltimore Orioles will tell you the most important factor in the most pivotal point in this game was what wasn’t there: The technology to make a definitive call rather than rely on guesswork and inconsistent television replays.

They lost a 5-3 game to the division rival New York Yankees Wednesday, Aug. 19 at Camden Yards, yet it was a 3-3 game, bottom of the seventh, two outs and the Yankees hoping that lefty reliever Brent Headrick could hang on and retire one of the most feared right-handed sluggers in the game.

Alonso ambushed him.

He clocked a first-pitch slider far over the left field fence some 333 feet from home plate, sauntered a few feet down the first base line and tried his best body English to will it fair. Headrick popped off the mound and crept toward the third base line.

Players in both dugouts hung over the railings to get a better look.

Foul ball.

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz asked for a crew chief review. Little complied. Alonso stood with his bat in foul territory, watched the replays along with the 26,453 fans on hand and believed vindication would come.

Instead, the verdict from New York confirmed what Little saw – yet what a replay from a down-the-line camera seemed to contradict.

Foul ball. Still.

What would have been the go-ahead home run from Pete Alonso was upheld as a foul ball after review pic.twitter.com/Induc0V7qO

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 20, 2026

The Orioles soon fell apart, yielding go-ahead runs in the top of the eighth. But their frustration was only beginning, as Albernaz, Alonso and starting pitcher Chris Bassitt all believe the technology exists to avoid potential error.

And Bassitt believes Major League Baseball is simply too cheap to utilize it.

“Obviously, I think it was fair. But after the call, it’s just crazy we still have this issue,” Bassitt said in the Orioles clubhouse. “We might be the only major sport with an issue like this. It’s been years that we have technology they can easily use to say, ‘This is exactly the right thing or wrong thing.’ The fact we don’t have it in 2026 is crazy. That’s my take.

“It’s not so much that they got the right call or wrong call. You’ll ask the general public and get a 50-50 answer. It’s just the fact we don’t have the technology in play to actually say 'hey, this was fair or foul' is literally crazy in 2026. It’s crazy.”

And why does it not exist?

“It costs money. That’s it. That’s literally it,” says Bassitt, a former member of the MLB Players’ Association executive council. “You ask a fan of the game who’s a true fan of the game, they’d want those cameras. You’d ask every player. Every coach.

“It costs money. That’s it. That’s literally it.”

Alonso cites the Hawk-Eye technology that is used to power the automated ball-strike system and believes it can be transferred to fair-foul calls that affect hulking sluggers like him with great frequency.

He said he’s been told the main reason it doesn’t exist is because all 30 major league ballparks have different dimensions from the plate to the outfield fences.

It’s easy to forget that Sal Stewart is still two weeks away from his one year anniversary as being a big leaguer. Called up by the Cincinnati Reds on September 1st of 2025 when rosters expanded, he hit the ground running back then, too, but his 2026 season just continues to show that the Reds may just have stumbled upon an unyielding force within their lineup for as long as they choose to have him.

The Reds offense is the absolute pits. It’s the stinkiest, most lethargic unit in the league, a position player corps that ranks dead last in fWAR, wRC+, and half a dozen other metrics you can read about if you can stomach it. Still, somehow, Sal has managed to hoist the entirety of the team onto his shoulders when things mean the most, and he now once again sits as the MLB leader in RBI after his performance on Wednesday night in Great American Ball Park.

The Reds got shut out yesterday. They had scored 1 (or fewer) runs in 6 of their most recent 10 games played. They were being shut out by Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore until Sal unleashed an absolute unit of a homer off the batter’s eye in CF in the Bottom of the 6th inning on Wednesday, a shot of the 3-run variety when the Reds had been trailing 2-0.

The future of the Reds is now, even if now they aren’t quite good enough just yet. Sal’s big smash gave the Reds the lead after fellow metal youngster Chase Burns held the Cardinals to just 2 ER in his start. The kids are not just all right, they’re damn destroyers of the paths of those unwilling to yield, and the long and short of it is that the front office of the Reds damn well better find more help for the leaders who’ve emerged to keep this club’s head above water so far in this otherwise dismal 2026 season.

Sal Stewart’s going to sock 30 dingers and drive in 120 runs this year. He’s only going to get better from here, too, as the kid – he’s a kid! – is still younger than Baltimore Orioles youngster Jackson Holliday, fellow Reds rookie Edwin Arroyo, Burns (by almost a year), Jac Caglianone, Jasson Dominguez, Chase Petty, and just about every single other dude out there still being dizzied by the world around them at that age.

Sal, though, is already over it. He’s just here to knock the shit out of the ball and win games.

The high for the Brewers coming off their 22-0 victory over the Mariners the night before was very quickly brought crashing back down to Earth on Wednesday night.

Seattle attacked Brewers starter Dustin May, who did not have his best stuff, early and often. The first three batters reached base, going single-single, double to quickly put two runs on the board. May rebounded to get Julio Rodriguez and Josh Naylor to make outs and seemed like he was on the path to get out of the inning. But then he gave up walks to Cole Young and Cal Raleigh to load the bases for Taylor Ward, who ripped a 2 RBI single.

What did not help during that first inning was William Contreras using up both of the Brewers ABS challenges on pitches that were not even close to the zone. The Brewers were behind the eight-ball early. It ended up being a 35-pitch first inning for May.

“He’s trying to keep May from struggling. He’s trying to get him on track so I understand it, that you went out of the box to do that…but he was wrong on both and it didn’t seem like they were that close.” Pat Murphy said. “So sometimes it’s harder than you think. He’s been really good at it and there he wasn’t.”

Contreras is 7-for his last-21 on challenges from behind the plate, by the way.

Things did not get better in the second inning. May allowed the first three batters to reach base again. Then a Rodriguez sac fly and Naylor single pushed across more runs and the Mariners were up 7-0 before the Brewers came up to bat a second time.

That would be all for May, who gave up seven hits and generated just two whiffs on 66 pitches in two innings.

The Brewers were able to start chipping away in the bottom half of the second when Joey Ortiz lifted a two-run shot over the left field fence for his seventh of the year.

They continued to have traffic on the bases in every inning, but were unable to scratch anything across until the 6th, when back-to-back walks from Contreras and Yelich chased starter Logan Gilbert from the game. Andrew Vaughn punched a single and the bases were loaded with nobody out for the bottom of the order. Luis Lara struck out, but Joey Ortiz was able to get a run home on a sacrifice fly. Cooper Pratt, who returned from the IL today, struck out to end the inning.

All the while the Brewers bullpen was shutting down the Mariners offense that was rolling through the first two innings. Grant Anderson, DL Hall, Bryse Wilson, and Antonio Senzatela combined to shutout the Mariners over the final seven innings of the ballgame. That gave the Brewers a chance to fight back.

The Brewers were able to plate a few more runs in the 8th against Seranthony Dominguez. Vaughn walked, Lara singled, and then Joey Ortiz delivered again with his fourth RBI of the night with a single to bring home Vaughn. With runners at the corners and nobody out, Cooper Pratt bounced into a 4-6-3 double play, which brought home another run to make it a 7-5 ballgame, but killed the momentum in the process.

“Yeah, (Pratt) didn’t have good at-bats. We’ve seen him have good at-bats in big situations, but he’s a young player, just like Lara in the bases loaded situation. It’s really unfortunate.” Pat Murphy said. “Those kids are 21, sometimes in this league, when you’re 21, you make those kinds of mistakes.”

In the 9th, Milwaukee went down in order against Mariners closer Andres Munoz.

In the end, going down seven runs by the second inning was too big of a hole for the Brewers offense to climb out of. They had some big opportunities in the 6th and 8th innings, but were unable to get the big hit and fully capitalize. That sets up the rubber match for Thursday afternoon with Robert Gasser on the mound for the Crew.