Category: Sports News

Good morning, LSB.

The Rangers lost the same kind of game I feel like I’ve seen them lose 20 times this season.

Skip Schumaker says it’d be cool if the Rangers were a team that could hit the ball e.g. the Brewers.

Jeff Wilson says the Rangers may be meeting their Waterloo in Milwaukee.

Elsewhere the Rangers are shutting down Jack Leiter after a setback in his rehab.

Wyatt Langford is banged up, one more thing for them to deal with.

Texas called up trade deadline acquisition Adam Macko.

On a positive note, Sebastian Walcott murdered a ball last night.

Though, Evan Grant offers a reason the Rangers won’t be calling up Walcott this season.

And finally 2023 Texas Rangers World Series champion and Creed enthusiast Andrew Heaney was the latest guest on Grant’s podcast.

That’s all for this morning. Have a good weekend!

Meet the Mets

The Mets continued their recent downslide with a loss to the Astros in last night’s series opener. The Mets managed only a single run off a Carson Benge RBI double, and while Christian Scott held Houston scoreless for the first five innings, he faltered in the sixth and the Astros brought three runs home, which was all they would end up needing.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, NY Post, Daily News, North Jersey, MLB.com

Chris Devenski is back with the Mets following a number of roster moves which also involved moving Jorge Polanco to the 60-man IL.

While some have called for the Mets to consider keeping Andy Green as their manager past this season, he intends to instead prioritize his family.

AJ Ewing has been struggling recently, but his manager still sees him taking good at-bats.

The Mets’ approach to facing Yordan Alvarez this weekend will be interesting to watch.

Devin Williams offered some thoughts on his return from injury, his up and down season, and how the team’s bullpen has performed in his absence.

The Mets might not be playing for much, but the environment at Citi Field has been better recently.

Nolan McLean has been having success this year despite not throwing his famous sweeper quite as much.

The Mets are taking it slow with Jonah Tong as he continues to develop in the minor leagues.

Around the National League East

Atlanta bats collectively mashed fourteen hits as the Braves secured a 6-4 victory over the Rockies.

The Braves also received some unfortunate injury news for a number of their pitchers.

The Phillies were down to their final out against the Angels when Edmundo Sosa hit a go-ahead grand slam to give Philadelphia a miraculous 5-3 win.

Nationals rookie pitcher Jackson Kent picked up his first major league win with seven solid innings in a 9-2 victory for Washington over the Marlins.

Around Major League Baseball

The Rays’ future ballpark situation appears to finally be resolved after a successful vote yesterday.

While Justin Verlander will retire at season’s end, he still plans on suiting up for the Tigers again before it’s all said and done.

Tarik Skubal made a successful and emotional return to Detroit.

MLB.com listed five teams who could surprise in October if they are able to make it there.

Max Fried will make his return from the injured list today for the Yankees.

A Dominican prospect who had a deal with the Guardians was suspended by Major League Baseball after he was found to have falsified his age and identity.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Vasilis Drimalitis previewed the weekend showdown against the Astros.

Joe Sokolowki provided the latest installment of This Week in Mets Quotes.

This Date in Mets History

The 1962 Mets suffered loss number 100 on this date forty-two years ago.

The Mets continue the weekend series with the Houston Astros at Citi Field, with a Saturday late-afternoon game at 4:10 on SNY.

Mets Notes

• In six starts since the All-Star break, Nolan McLean has posted five quality starts and pitched a 2.40 ERA over 41.1 innings with 43 strikeouts to 19 walks. He's been very good of late, surrendering just two runs over his last 18 innings
• Carson Benge, the Mets' other uber-impressive rookie, has been good of late as well, with a .347/.390/.561 slash line for a .951 OPS with five home runs and 13 RBI in his last 25 games
• Bo Bichette, who took a knock the other day, has shown a lot of promise in the season's second half: .281 with a .758 OPS in 37 games since the Midsummer Classic

Today's Lineups

Since the Phillies are playing the Angels over the weekend, let’s go all the way back to the 2024 trade deadline. Remember those days? The offense was good but everyone hated it, Johan Rojas and Christian Pache were platooning in center field before Pache was dealt to Baltimore, and Jeff Hoffman didn’t think about Miguel Rojas in his sleep yet.

During the 2024 MLB trade deadline, the Phillies shipped prospects George Klassen and Sam Aldegheri for Carlos Estévez to give Rob Thomson one more leverage guy for October. Despite giving up the grand slam to Francisco Lindor to end the Phillies season, he put together a very respectable two months as the Phillies closer.

In 20 games, Estévez pitched to a 2.57 ERA while recording six saves. His best performance came against the Braves on September 1, pitching two full innings of scoreless baseball, one of them being in extras with the ghost runner, to allow Nick Castellanos to walk it off on Sunday Night Baseball in the 10th.

He, like the entire Phillies bullpen against the New York Mets in the NLDS, choked in the biggest moments but for what it’s worth, he was the best option Rob Thomson had during that series.

George Klassen was the headline piece from this trade and was finally called up earlier this season and has made six starts with the Angels, pitching to a 3.67 ERA over six starts. He has promising talent with a 96 mph four-seam fastball, a tantalizing slider that hitters have struggled against, and full mix around it.

With that said, Klassen has struggled to find the zone and limit walks, a problem that has existed since his college days. Just in his big league sample size, he has 24 strikeouts to 21 walks in only 27 innings of work. There is plenty of reliever risk with the profile because of his control issues. Something to monitor moving forward.

Sam Aldegheri has not quite found solid footing with the Angels, pitching a handful of times in each of the last three seasons but never getting significant run either as a starter or reliever. Across 60.1 innings in the big leagues, Aldegheri has a 5.67 ERA with 44 strikeouts to 37 walks as a soft-tossing left hander.

There are arguments from opportunity cost, maybe Klassen would’ve helped land someone better in a different trade down the line, or just keeping them as starting pitching depth.

However, given the lack of success from either arm has had, would you make the Carlos Estévez trade again?

Late last night, while you were sleeping, Edmundo Sosa did it again.

Sosa didn’t start last night’s thrilling 5-3, come-from-behind win over the Angels in Anaheim last night, but he sure did finish it. Brought up to the plate as a pinch hitter for Brandon Marsh in the top of the 9th, Sosa slammed a two-out grand slam off left-handed reliever Sammy Peralta over the left center field wall.

The blast delivered the Phillies a shocking and much-needed victory for the Phils, who moved to within one game of the Chicago Cubs for the NL’s top wild card spot.

The slam was the Phils’ first in the 9th inning with two out since Shane Victorino hit one in 2009. And it was the first pinch-hit 9th inning grand slam since Ozzie Virgil in 1983.

It’s the latest monster run-producing hit for Sosa in the month of August, helping boost what had been an abnormally down year for him at the plate. Overall, Sosa’s .235/.275/.388 slash line and .663 OPS are below his career average .255/.306/.412, .717 OPS.

In five of his last seven games dating back to August 10, Sosa has recorded multiple RBIs. And generally speaking, those run-producing hits have been impactful, such as his key 3-run double in the Phils’ incredible 9th inning comeback against the Cardinals last Sunday.

When Sosa came to the plate last night, the Phillies’ odds of winning were 14%. Following his grand slam, they jumped up to 92%, and increase in Wins Probability Added (WPA) of 78%. His bases loaded double last Sunday against St. Louis bumped their WPA from 10% to 42%, a jump of 32%.

It’s one of the reasons why Sosa has the fourth-most WPA on the Phillies, despite his part-time role.

• Kyle Schwarber: 2.8 (578 PAs)
• Bryson Stott: 1.5 (506 PAs)
• Bryce Harper: 1.4 (576 PAs)
• Edmundo Sosa: 1.3 (214 PAs)
• Derek Hill: 1.2 (96 PAs)

Each percentage of Wins Probability Added, up or down, amounts to 0.1 WPA, so a jump of 78% in win probability is worth 0.78 WPA. So a big moment like last night obviously has a dramatic effect in a positive way.

Conversely, a player who routinely fails to come through in high leverage situations lowers their team’s win probability, negatively affecting their WPA. The worst WPA on the Phillies probably won’t surprise you.

• Trea Turner: -2.6 (579 PAs)
• Rafael Marchan: -1.6 (92 PAs)
• Adolis Garcia: -0.9 (259 PAs)
• Brandon Marsh: -0.7 (502 PAs)
• Garrett Stubbs: -0.6 (52 PAs)

Sosa has a 1.392 OPS with two outs and runners in scoring position, and in “high leverage” situations, his OPS is .923. It is .583 in medium leverage and .604 in low leverage situations.

His fellow bench running buddy Derek Hill has also been quite adept in coming through in the clutch, with an .832 OPS in late and close situations and an .893 OPS in high leverage spots. You may remember some of them.

In case you’re wondering, yes, the Phillies have had an inordinate number of down-and-not-out, 9th inning comeback dingers this year. Sosa’s slam was their fourth go-ahead home run with two outs in the 9th inning, tied for 2nd-most by any team in a season since 1901. Only the 2022 Gints had more (5), and no team in baseball has hit three. The other NL East teams have hit two combined.

Prior to Sosa’s heroics were some excellent at-bats by a team that continues to show improved discipline at the plate. Alec Bohm was hit by a pitch with one out. Justin Crawford worked a terrific at-bat and drew a walk.

It felt like the fates were against the Phils when Bryson Stott was robbed of a three-run home by Wade Meckler for the 2nd out.

But then J.T. Realmuto drew a five-pitch walk to load the bases before Sosa went deep.

A hit-by-pitch and two walks. Ducks on the pond.

All of it leading up to yet another 9th inning home run by a Phils bench player in an August of fun that no one wants to see end.

The cat distribution system is functioning in Lawrenceville, Georgia this week. The Gwinnett Stripers were blessed with a little baby orange furball yesterday.

Check out that third from the last panel. My word, I don’t need anything else to take care and shelter at the moment, but I’m finding a blanket for this handsome fellow if he shows up at my door. They have requested names for the little one. The finalists are:

• ChiPurr Jones
• Parker
• Cracker Jack
• Dinger

Come on, y’all. What are we doing here? After all, do you remember the last time Gwinnett named anything? It was back in 2017. People were allegedly super confused about having two teams named the Braves, Gwinnett and Atlanta. They were buying tickets to the Triple-A team and very disappointed to find not-the-Atlanta-Braves take the field. In the mid-2010s, it was super easy to tell them apart. One was 75% composed of players that were never going to succeed long term in Major League Baseball, and the other one was Gwinnett.

But no matter, they were going to solicit names from the public. The name that got the most attention was the Buttons, named after Founding Father and former Governor of Georgia Button Gwinnett. The Buttons quickly opened a huge lead in the voting. Then the social team leaked the Buttons as the winner. That was pulled down almost immediately. Gwinnett went forward with the Stripers with their booger-green Bass-Pro-Shop-inspired uniforms.

Call the team whatever, but we’re talking something important here. This cat is going to answer to this name for the rest of its life. Well OK, they’ll call it that and he’ll ignore them. But this is an important matter. So what should we name this kitty? They have proven that they aren’t beholden to the final list anyway. We have been workshopping Martin Purrez, Martin Purrado (or Martin Gato), and Meowchal Harris II internally. What say you guys?

Yeah, it’s cats today for your question, but the Braves are 25 games up right now when this time last year they were 61-76 last year and about to be walked off by the Phillies on the 30th. Let’s pump the brakes a little.

It has been a tough week for the Cardinals with a five-game losing streak plunging their playoff odds below two percent. The season has been more competitive and fun than expected, but the fall from contention stings nonetheless. I am a reasonably logical person, but there is an irrational part of my brain that has spent most of the season expecting the Cardinals to make the playoffs. For most of the year, it felt like everything was breaking right. The Walker comeback story. Wetherholt became an instant star. The rotation was exceeding all reasonable expectations. There were problems, but a leaky bullpen and lack of a third baseman would surely not be enough to undermine a magical playoff run. Well, the aforementioned losing streak snapped me back to reality and motivated me to do a more objective check-in of how the team is performing relative to preseason expectations. 

To do this, I will compare the January ZiPS projections, position by position, to the team’s actual production thus far. The ZiPS overview graphic is based on the Depth Charts projection at that point in time, so I will use that to reference the players’ expected playing time. 

Catcher 

Projected WAR: 2.8

Current WAR: 1.6

It will take a hot finish for the catching cohort to catch up to the preseason ZiPS projection. Depth Charts had pegged Pedro Pages for over half the catcher playing time with Herrera, Pozo, and Crooks slated for about 100 plate appearances each. Pages has underperformed slightly and Herrera’s poor defense has allowed him to accrue only 1.1 WAR at catcher despite a 129 wRC+ when behind the plate. The biggest driver of the miss is Crooks’ 0.1 WAR in 45 games. 

You do have to give the Cardinals credit for sticking to the Herrera experiment all season. I do not have a developed enough eye for scouting catcher defense to say if he has improved throughout the year, but his season defensive stats leave much to be desired. My hope is that there is clear communication going into the offseason regarding Herrera’s defensive home in 2027. This will go a long way toward clarifying the catcher logjam. As far as the remainder of this season, it would be great to see Crooks finish strong with the bat. He has been difficult to watch at times, but with his track record of minor league performance, he still has plenty of upside to dream on. 

First Base

Projected WAR: 1.9

Current WAR: 2.1

Our first “exceeds expectations” grade! Depth Charts properly pegged Alec Burleson as the primary first baseman, accruing most of the value to drive the solid 1.9 WAR projection. Gorman, Pozo, and Brendan Donovan were penciled in for 250 plate appearances at first as well. Burly has racked up 2.6 WAR to offset the -0.5 contributed by Blaze Jordan, Jose Fermin, and Ramon Urias.

I don’t think we have too much to learn about the first base situation for the remainder of the year. Burleson is established as one of the best hitters in baseball against righties. He has hit lefties better as the season has progressed, but most of that improvement is BABIP-driven, so he still looks like he could benefit from a strong platoon partner. We will have plenty of time to discuss if and how Burleson fits into the long-term plans, but regardless, he has increased his value substantially with his continued improvement.

Second Base

Projected WAR: 2.8

Current WAR: 4.4

Another huge win! And this one in spite of losing Brendan Donovan after the projections came out. Donovan was slated for the majority of the playing time at second base. In fact, Wetherholt was projected for only 70 plate appearances. Wetherholt has, of course, taken the majority of the second base playing time, accruing 4.2 WAR. Saggese, Torres, Urias, Prieto, and Fermin have all filled in occasionally and managed to hold serve with a collective 0.2 WAR. 

The only drama that remains is whether Wetherholt can claim his rightful title of Rookie of the Year, but the Cardinals are set at the keystone for the next decade or so. 

Shortstop

Projected WAR: 3.5

Current WAR: 2.0

Winn was projected for 90% of the shortstop playing time and is likely to fall a bit short due to his recent injury. This has been the second straight season of offensive decline for Winn, but his defense remains incredible enough to soften the blow. His underlying offensive metrics are in line with his career averages, if not a bit better, so I am not too worried about him moving forward. Still, another season without taking a step forward decreases the probability that he has another gear to his offensive game. 

JJ Wetherholt has been the only other positive contributor at the position with 0.3 WAR while Saggese, Urias, Fermin, and Prieto have given back all that value and then some (-0.6 WAR) in just 35 plate appearances combined. 

It would be great to see Winn come back from his injury and finish strong and then sign a long-term extension in the offseason. 

Third Base

Projected WAR: 3.2

Current WAR: -0.1

No surprises here as we are all painfully aware of the hole at third base. The preseason projection had Wetherholt taking the majority of his reps at third base, so this is really where the Donovan-sized hole shows up. Gorman (0.5 WAR) and Blaze Jordan (0.3 WAR) have pitched in positive WAR contributions thanks to their solid defensive numbers, but Prieto, Fermin, Urias, and Torres have torpedoed any hope of cobbling together reasonable team-level performance with -0.9 WAR combined. 

With Jordan’s injury, it looks like we could be in for Gorman’s last stand down the stretch. It is hard for me to imagine the Cardinals being willing to pay Gorman a second-year arbitration salary this offseason, but they have stuck with him this long, so you never know. Jordan has shown me enough that I would like to see him get an extended run to start next season while we wait for potential challengers from the minor leagues to emerge. 

Left Field

Projected WAR: 2.6

Current WAR: 0.7

Left field has been yet another underperformance, but you can give the team a partial mulligan due to trades. The projections coming into the year were based on about half a season of Lars Nootbaar and 140 plate appearances from Donovan giving above-average production. With Nootbaar missing the first couple of months and being dealt, the position has been a complete revolving door with seven players getting at least 11 appearances. Fermin, Torres, Pereira, Nootbaar, and Church have combined for a solid 1.7 WAR, but truly terrifying performances from Saggese and Velazquez have given back more than half that value. 

Joshua Baez is going through an adjustment period, but at least there is finally someone in place that has a real chance at being a long-term solution. 

Center Field

Projected WAR: 2.3

Current WAR: 0.2

Another clunker… I had completely forgotten how solid Victor Scott’s projections were coming into the year. He was projected for the majority of the playing time with Lars Nootbaar and Nathan Church filling in the gaps. Nathan Church is a fun guy to root for and does have some tools, but he is a long shot to ever be a starting-caliber player on a true contender. 

I still like Chase Davis as a potential delayed breakout lottery ticket, but he is certainly not someone you project as a starter. Josiah Ragsdale and Tai Peete are both getting center field time in Springfield but are likely at least a year away. Scott has been on a nice run in Memphis over the last month, so perhaps he will be given another chance in September. There are a lot of names who could step forward, but it is unclear if any of them will be able to hit enough to stick.

Right Field

Projected WAR: 0.4

Current WAR: 2.6

The second big win of the 2026 campaign courtesy of Jordan Walker. I don’t think anyone has forgotten how poorly Walker was projected coming into the year. His ZiPS projection was actually below replacement, so the only reason the position WAR was projected above zero was because Nootbaar and Church were expected to contribute above-replacement value in 30 games. Walker has posted 3.1 WAR, while his occasional backups have given back about half a win.

Designated Hitter

Projected WAR: 2.8

Current WAR: 0.6

The DH position has been a massive disappointment. Herrera has only managed 0.2 WAR while putting up a 100 wRC+ in his non-catching time. Gorman also snuck in and sabotaged the overall positional value for 15 games of -0.6 WAR “production.” The only things keeping the position positive overall are the production of Burleson and Walker in limited playing time and a red-hot seven-game stint from Nelson Velazquez with three home runs. 

While the 0.6 WAR looks bad, it is important to put it into context. Because of the positional adjustment penalty, that total actually ranks 12th in all of baseball. If Herrera is relegated to DH only next season, he should still project as one of the best in baseball. 

Starting Pitchers

Projected WAR: 9.6

Current WAR: 10.8

Outside of Liberatore’s underperformance and Richard Fitts’ injury, the starting rotation has been a bright spot for most of the year. Dustin May, Kyle Leahy, and Andre Pallante have already sailed past their full-season projected WAR totals and McGreevy still has a chance to get close with a strong finish. 

Down the stretch, you really just want to see no more injuries. Quinn Mathews throwing strikes would be a nice added bonus if I get a second wish. The Cardinals will have impressive major league depth heading into next season with an absurd concentration of starting pitcher talent at Springfield and Memphis. Whether they can develop a true ace remains an open question, but the backbone of a great rotation is coming into focus. 

Relief Pitchers

Projected WAR: 1.9

Current WAR: 0.2

The less said about the bullpen, the better… I remember being extremely confident that the bullpen would outdo the already bad 1.9 WAR projection, so this really just serves as another reminder that bullpens are impossible to predict. Luis Gastelum is on an incredible heater in his last nine games with a 20-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and only one run allowed. Perhaps Cade Winquest will be able to provide some added juice down the stretch, but regardless, we are likely to enter 2027 viewing the pen as a huge question mark. 

For how well this season has gone, it is surprising how many positions have underperformed projections this year. Only three of the nine positions are likely to finish better than expected, and much of the overperformance from the rotation has been given back by the bullpen. That is how baseball goes, though: every Wetherholt and Walker breakout has to be accompanied by a disappearing center fielder or a burning bullpen. I would still absolutely take the results and development that the Cardinals have had relative to expectations. Finding star players is the hardest and most expensive thing for any franchise to do, and the Cardinals may have finally found two in Walker and Wetherholt. 

The Yankees’ offense was up to its old tricks on Friday, mustering a mere solo shot by Paul Goldschmidt and three hits in total against the middling Patrick Sandoval and the Red Sox bullpen. They even had extra chances granted due to four walks, but still never came up with the big hit when runners were on. Thankfully, the superior part of the New York operation stood up, with Cam Schlittler firing 5.2 scoreless while Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn, and David Bednar handled the rest. Cody Bellinger’s pivotal outfield assist to throw Ceddanne Rafaela out at the plate as the potential tying was the play of the game, and the Yankees won, 1-0. Now they must play two and ideally come up with more support for Carlos Rodón and Max Fried.

There was plenty of notable Junior Circuit activity on Friday night, so let’s get into it!

Tampa Bay Rays (80-54) 9, San Diego Padres (72-63) 4

Casey Mize has not had the best time since joining the Padres at the Trade Deadline, though tonight five of the seven runs scored against him were unearned in a sloppy fourth inning. After Yandy Díaz opened the scoring with a solo shot in the third, the Dads committed a pair of errors after Junior Caminero was hit by a pitch and Jonny DeLuca drew a walk, resulting in a run scoring and the bases loaded with one out. A wild pitch plated another, followed by a Jorge Mateo sac fly, and consecutive RBI singles by Taylor Walls and Díaz.

San Diego scored two each in the fifth and sixth to cut into that lead, Jackson Merrill crushing a two-run bomb in the sixth. However, the Rays kept the pressure on scoring one each in the fifth, sixth, and seventh. DeLuca added an RBI single in the fifth, Caminero an RBI single in the sixth, and Mullins a solo shot in the seventh to make sure the Padres always remained at arm’s length. The Rays become the first team in the AL to reach 80 wins (the Brewers, Dodgers, and Braves already got there in the NL), and maintain their four-game lead over the Yankees in the East.

Other Games

Chicago White Sox (71-63) 7, Minnesota Twins (64-71) 4

The promotion of top prospect Walker Jenkins wasn’t enough to lift the Twins over their AL Central rivals. There was a flurry of scoring early, Chicago plating four with two outs in the first on three straight singles by Miguel Vargas, Andrew Benintendi, and Braden Montgomery, capped off by a Colson Montgomery three-run bomb. The Twins responded with three of their own in the bottom half on a two-run homer by Brooks Lee and a solo shot by Kody Clemens before tying the game in the second on an RBI single from Lee after Trevor Larnach led off with a double.

Only the White Sox kept their foot on the accelerator. Benintendi added an RBI double in the third before a passed ball allowed another run to score in the fourth and a wild pitch the final run in the eighth. With the win, the White Sox extend their surprise lead atop the Central to three and a half games over Cleveland.

AL Wild Card Rock Fight

Toronto Blue Jays (66-70) 8, Seattle Mariners (64-71) 1

Both AL Cy Young frontrunners pitched on Friday and Dylan Cease matched Cam Schlittler stride for stride, allowing a run on four hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in six innings. George Springer went 4-for-4 with a home run and three runs scored. Kazuma Okamoto went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs while Nathan Lukes also left the yard. Dominic Canzone’s solo shot in the first was the Mariners’ only run.

Houston Astros (68-67) 3, New York Mets (60-75) 1

Hunter Brown pitched his best start of the year, allowing a run on five hits and a walk while striking out 10 in 6.2 innings. The Astros scored all their runs in the sixth, Yordan Alvarez, Isaac Paredes, and Jose Altuce drawing three straight walks before Daulton Varsho and Yainer Diaz cleared the bases with a pair of singles. This was after Carson Benge gave the Mets the lead with an RBI double the inning prior. Houston is two games ahead of Texas in the AL West, plus four up on fading Seattle.

Kansas City Royals (61-75) 3, Cleveland Guardians (68-67) 0

Michael Wacha was simply untouchable, twirling eight scoreless innings allowing four hits an no walks while striking out 10. Salvador Perez opened the scoring in the fifth with an RBI groundout. Carter Jensen gave the Royals some late insurance with a two-run blast in the ninth.

Milwaukee Brewers (84-51) 6, Texas Rangers (66-69) 1

Brewers rookie Logan Henderson logged one of the best starts of his young career, allowing a run on one hit and no walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings, that lone hit a Danny Jansen solo shot in the third. While the Rangers would manage just one more hit on the contest, the Brewers ended with 14. Christian Yelich went 3-for-5 with an RBI double, William Contreras 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Jake Bauers 2-for-2 with three walks.

Baltimore Orioles (66-69) 4, The Athletics (53-82) 3

A’s starter Jacob Lopez was at fault for both Orioles runs in the second, committing an error after a HBP, walk, and single. The Athletics tied it up on a Jonah Heim solo shot in the seventh and Lawrence Butler RBI single in the eighth. Both teams had runners thrown out at home meaning this one went to extras. The O’s scored two in the top of the tenth on two-out singles by Coby Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand to win it.

How about an overall picture of the hectic Wild Card race?

Cleveland Guardians (68-67)
Texas Rangers (66-69, 2 GB)
Baltimore Orioles (66-69, 2 GB)
Toronto Blue Jays (66-70, 2.5 GB)
Seattle Mariners (64-71, 4 GB)
Minnesota Twins (64-71, 4 GB)

Cleveland remains in front, nearly by default, but we still have just under a month of regular season play to go.

I am repeating some things to myself.

Winning streaks don’t last forever.

The Royals haven’t lost 75 games by accident.

Michael Wacha cannot pitch again tonight.

The Guardians lost 3-0 to the Royals yesterday as Jakhob covered here. They got shutout again. Craig Yoho pitched 1 and 2/3rds scoreless then hung a cutter and gave up a two-run homer. Angel Genao got up 2-0 in the count with the bases loaded then topped a good pitch to hit back to the pitcher to end the game. Should someone else have pitched the 9th for Yoho? I don’t know. Probably he should have executed that last pitch better. Should Patrick Bailey have hit with Genao saved to bat for Halpin? I don’t know. Bailey getting two hits against Wacha is admirable but doesn’t mean he is a good hitter.

They need to flush this one quickly and get after it this afternoon. Griffin needs his best performance in a Guardians uniform.

AROIND MLB:

Tigers, Rangers, Twins lost. White Sox, Astros, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Mariners won. Guardians still have a 2 game lead in the Wildcard race.