Category: Sports News

Hello, friends.

After Wednesday night’s 3-1 win over the Angels, the Orioles have crept back within two games of .500 for the first time since July 19, the seventh game of the season-long seven game winning streak. Check out Stacey’s recap of the game for more of the lovely totals, including another fantastic outing from Trevor Rogers.

The Orioles haven’t been a single game below .500 since losing the second game of a doubleheader on April 30. This team has been down, but never wholly out, for quite some time. That’s true when it comes to the wild card race as well. Yesterday was modestly successful in the wild card race for the O’s. They gained no ground on Texas, since the Rangers blanked the Giants.

However, the Orioles did leapfrog the Twins, who dropped a fourth straight game when they were beaten by the Royals. This all leaves the Orioles half a game back of both the Rangers and Guardians, with only those two teams to pass. The Guardians are in action again today, though the Rangers are not; their next game isn’t until they play the Orioles on Friday. So, depending on how the O’s game goes and how that Cleveland game goes, the Orioles could be tied for a wild card spot at the end of today.

The only part of that the Orioles can control is how good of a game they play here against the Angels. LA’s starter, Ryan Johnson, has been terrible through 12 games this season, rolling in with a 7.63 ERA and 1.59 WHIP. We are all well acquainted this season with the fact that the Orioles can stink against anyone, at any time. Johnson isn’t left-handed, if that makes you feel better. Starting for the O’s is Brandon Young.

The Orioles are 15-3 in games started by Young. They’re gonna need to keep that pace rolling til season’s end to do something surprising in the aftermath of the trade deadline sell-off. One part of that is Young continuing to pitch well. Another part is the offense scoring some runs. It’s also going to take the bullpen putting up mostly zeroes. I’m not confident in the second and third parts.

But, you know, until reality proves differently, there’s not too much harm in telling yourself that maybe Adley Rutschman getting traded provided a shock that some struggling players needed: They got a manager fired last year, they got an All-Star traded this year. Shape up already.

It’s a day game today. Don’t show up at 6:30 looking for the game to start. It should already be over. The finale gets under way at 12:35.

We’re running a poll this week wondering how people are feeling about when the Orioles will next be in the postseason. Have you voted yet?

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Did the Orioles rebuild fail? (Steve on Baseball)
Steve Melewski argues that the rebuild was a success and what came after that is what failed. I’m not only posting this take because I agree with it. That sure helps, though.

Ranking the prospects traded at the deadline (FanGraphs)
The Orioles check in here with three of the top ten and five of the top 17. I’ve seen other sites iterations of these lists with the O’s doing as well as three of the top five.

Albernaz isn’t sure of Orioles closer (Baltimore Baseball)
It’s been Yennier Cano and Andrew Kittredge for consecutive chances since the deadline move that subtracted Tyler Wells from the mix. It worked out both times! Let’s see how it works when the Orioles face a team other than the worst one in the AL.

Notes on Hoppe joining bullpen, Franklin leading off, and more (School of Roch)
Craig Albernaz tried out some different stuff last night. I don’t hate attempts to freshen up a stale situation, though I don’t think much will come of it.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

There are a few former Orioles who are born on this day. They are: 2007 reliever Victor Zambrano, 1974 outfielder Mike Reinbach, 1967-71 pitcher Jim Hardin, and 1966 four-game catcher Camilo Carreón.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: poet Alfred Tennyson (1809), penicillin co-discoverer Alexander Fleming (1881), actress/producer Lucille Ball (1911), artist Andy Warhol (1928), movie maker M. Night Shyamalan (1970), Spice Girl Geri Halliwell (1972), and actor Leslie Odom Jr. (1981).

On this day in history…

In 1806, the reigning Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II, proclaimed the empire to be dissolved. Conveniently for Francis, he was still emperor of an entirely different empire, the Austrian Empire, which endured until it merged with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1867.

In 1914, the conflict we now know as World War I continued its spiral of escalation as assorted nations declared war on the enemies of their allies or the allies of their enemies: Serbia declared war on Germany, and Austria declared was on Russia.

In 1945, the American atomic bomb “Little Boy” was detonated on Hiroshima, Japan, killing around 70,000 from the blast, with many more dying from radiation sickness later.

**

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on August 6. Have a safe Thursday. Go O’s!

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (38-37/14-20)

COLUMBUS 8, SYRACUSE 4 (BOX)

It’s been a year to forget for Jonah Tong. The righty, who at one point was the Mets best pitching prospect, has stagnated in 2026, and this start was no exception. Tong served up five home run across five innings, leaving his ERA at an unsightly 5.46 on the season. While his age and legitimate arm talent mean his career is far from over, he needs to make some adjustments going forward.

Other than that, the Mets mustered up five hits but simply could not keep up with the home run barrage from the Clippers.

• CF Nick Morabito: 0-4, R, BB, 2 K
• SS Zack Short: 1-4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, BB, K
• 1B Christian Arroyo: 1-3, BB, 2 E
• 2B Christopher Morel: 0-3, BB
• 3B Andy Ibáñez: 0-2, BB
• DH Nick Lorusso: 0-3, RBI, BB
• RF Jose Ramos: 0-4, 2 K
• C Shawn Ross: 2-3, R, 2B, BB, K, E
• LF D’Andre Smith: 1-4, K
• RHP Jonah Tong: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP, L (3-6)
• REHAB ALERT: RHP Austin Warren: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• RHP Jonathan Pintaro: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP
• RHP Ben Simon: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (27-42/13-22)

BINGHAMTON 3, HARTFORD 1 (BOX)

One of the biggest new faces to the Mets organization, Émilien Pitre, made his presence known right away in the win. He drove in the first run of the game on an RBI single in the first inning, and added another hit later. Kevin Parada continued the scoring in the second with a two run home run, his first at the Double-A level.

Those three runs would be more than enough, as a solo home run served up by R.J. Gordon in the fourth was the only offense Hartford mustered. Gordon was excellent outside of that solo shot, striking out ten, walking one, and surrendering three hits across six innings. The bullpen threw three one hit frames to end it.

This game also featured Jefferson Rojas’s organizational debut, which is fun considering he is easily one of their top prospects now. He went 0-4, but he absolutely smoked the ball in his first at bat and reached base on an error (that was a little bit of a soft call for an error, in my humble opinion).

• SS Marco Vargas: 1-4, R, K, SB (13)
• 2B Émilien Pitre: 2-4, RBI
• DH Jefferson Rojas: 0-4
• CF Chris Suero: 0-4
• 3B Billy Amick: 0-3, 3 K
• LF John Bay: 1-3
• 1B Corey Collins: 0-2, R, BB, E (1)
• C Kevin Parada: 2-3, R, HR (1), 2 RBI
• RF Yohairo Cuevas: 0-3, 2 K
• RHP R.J. Gordon: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K, W (2-7)
• RHP Carlos Guzman: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, H (3)
• RHP Brendan Girton: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, H (4)
• RHP Saul Garcia: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, S (3)

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (25-40/19-18)

BROOKLYN 10, WILMINGTON 8 (BOX)

Another game, another organizational debut, this time for hometown kid Sammy Stafura. The childhood Mets fan led off for Brooklyn and doubled on the first pitch he saw as a Met farmhand.

The rest of the game was a wild, back and forth affair. Cole Mathis (another new Met, though not as new as the rest of them) doubled two runs home in the first, and was singled home by Yonatan Henriquez. Wilmington would get all three runs back in the third, tying the game up.

Aidan Smith, another new Met who came to the organization alongside Émilien Pitre, hit a solo home run to make it 4-3 in the fifth. Wilmington would tie it in the sixth, take a one run lead in the seventh, and score three in the eighth to make it an 8-4 lead.

Brooklyn battled back, and then some, in the ninth. Smith drove in his second run of the game. flying out sacrificially to cut the deficit to 8-5. Jamari Baylor singled home two to make it a one run game. Yonatan Henriquez got his second big hit of the game, this time a three run home run, to give Brooklyn a 10-8 lead. Josh Blum tossed a one, two, three inning in the bottom of the ninth to secure the comeback.

• SS Sammy Stafura: 1-4, 2 R, 2B, BB
• CF Aidan Smith: 1-3, R, HR (11), 2 RBI, BB, K
• LF Trey Snyder: 0-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K
• RF Randy Guzman: 1-3, R, K
• 2B Jamari Baylor: 2-2, R, 2 RBI
• 1B Cole Mathis: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K
• 2B-RF Yonatan Henriquez: 2-5, R, HR (5), 4 RBI, K
• C Daiverson Gutierrez: 0-4, K, E (10)
• DH Carter Dierdorf: 0-1, R, 3 BB
• 3B Antonio Jimenez: 0-2, R, 2 BB
• RHP Emilio Obispo: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP
• RHP Rafi Vazquez: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• RHP Ryan Dollar: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• LHP Gregori Louis: 1.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, W (4-3)
• RHP Josh Blum: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, S (1)

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (33-33/13-21)

GAME ONE: DAYTONA 8, ST. LUCIE 4 / 7 (BOX)

Will Watson, who came into the season as a name to watch but struggled and has not pitched since May due to injury, made an appearance in a rehab assignment. His stuff was solid, even though he gave up two unearned runs. Hopefully he can round out the season strong.

The Mets had a frustrating time in this one, making three errors, going 2-9 with runners in scoring position, and leaving ten on base in the loss.

• SS Elian Peña: 2-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, E (22)
• LF Aiden Robbins: 2-4
• DH Ryan Tayman: 0-4
• C Yovanny Rodriguez: 1-4, 2 K, E (2)
• RF Kuhio Aloy: 1-3, BB
• 1B Reed Stallman: 1-4, R, 2 K
• CF Bohan Adderley: 2-4, R, K, SB (2), E (3)
• 3B Vladi Gomez: 1-3, R, BB, K, SB (3)
• 2B Kooper Schulte: 0-2, BB, K
• REHAB ALERT: RHP Will Watson: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, L (0-1)
• RHP Candido Cuevas: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• LHP Conner Ware: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 WP
• RHP Caden Wooster: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP

GAME TWO: ST. LUCIE 11, DAYTONA 10 / 10 (BOX)

Yes, dear reader, this was a seven inning minor league double header game that went ten innings.

As you could imagine, the two teams traded haymakers until the very end. St. Lucie went up 3-0 after two, and Daytona answered with three in the fourth to tie it. They took the lead with one run in the fifth. That 4-3 lead for Daytona would hold until the seventh, when Daytona added two in the frame. Vladi Gomez, who had an incredible game, going 4-5 with three doubles, got up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh and cleared them with a double (though he only got credit for two RBI because the last run scored on an error).

Daytona and St. Lucie would trade runs in the eighth, and trade two run home runs in the ninth, with Julio Zayas forcing extras for St. Lucie with his two run homer. Daytona scored one in the tenth, but John Smith III would answer with a two run single to walk off Daytona in a wild one.

• DH Elian Peña: 2-4, R, BB, 2 K, SB
• LF John Smith III: 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI, K
• C Ryan Tayman: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, E
• 1B Julio Zayas: 3-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
• RF Simon Juan: 1-5, 2 K
• 3B Dylan Carey: 0-5, R, 3 K
• CF Wyatt Vincent: 0-4, 2 R, BB, 2 K
• 2B Vladi Gomez: 4-5, 2 R, 3 2B, 2 RBI, SB
• SS Kooper Schulte: 0-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K
• P Owen Woodward: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• P Dillon Stiltner: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 2 K
• P Zack Mack: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
• P Camden Lohman: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• P Miguel Mejias: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• P Ernesto Mercedes: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
• P Tyler McLoughlin: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Rookie: FCL Mets (24-33)

NO GAME (SEASON OVER)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

R.J. Gordon

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Jonah Tong

The Dodgers did not need an ace. They had one in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was an absolute master last fall as he was leading Los Angeles to its second straight World Series title. The Dodgers also have a two-time Cy Young Award winner in Blake Snell coming back from the injured list soon, followed by another All-Star in Tyler Glasnow.

It didn't matter. The Dodgers went out and got the best available pitcher at the Aug. 3 trade deadline anyway.

Yamamoto threw two complete games last October, the first pitcher to do that in a postseason since Curt Schilling in 2001, then he came out of the bullpen in Game 7 of the World Series and got the last eight outs. He was the Series MVP. With Snell expected back next week and Glasnow on schedule for a late August return, the Dodgers will have depth. Shohei Ohtani has stepped away from pitching for now, but is expected back on the mound at some point this season.

So, Tarik Skubal is not filling the role of team savior. He's insurance against three arms that have to come back right. The Los Angeles rotation, despite the laments about injuries, already led the majors in ERA without the two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner.

More than 60 trades went through from the middle of July to Aug. 3. A few, like the Skubal deal, made a good team even better. A few of these moves will decide whether a team plays in October at all. Those are arguably worth more, and they are also the ones most likely to blow up.

Here are five big impact trades, sorted by how much they are likely to matter once the season gets shorter:

Adley Rutschman to the Red Sox

In June, the Red Sox looked ready to have a fire sale. Then they won 23 of 26 games, and Craig Breslow started spending prospects. He sent three of Boston's top five prospects to Baltimore to get a catcher that can help the Red Sox in October.

He needed to. Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong combined for a .615 OPS behind the plate this season. Rutschman is a three-time All-Star who switch-hits, frames and calls a solid game. He is 28 and under club control through next season, so it's not a rental.

Where this could blow up on Breslow and Boston is with Rutschman's health. He arrived at Fenway Tuesday on the injured list with left wrist inflammation, and his injury history was the biggest worry executives had about him at the deadline. The Red Sox went into Wednesday night's games 61-51 and four games ahead of Cleveland for the last wild card spot. They will be playing in October if Rutschman is.

The Yankees dropped a dud performance to close out their series with St. Louis, losing 3-1 in a game where they had several chances but continued to be ineffective with their bats. Will Warren had an adventure in the fifth that saw him give up three runs all with two outs, but overall his outing wasn’t bad and not the biggest reason the team lost. The lineup just needs to pull their own weight at some point, especially with the Trade Deadline passed and no more outside reinforcements on the horizon. Yes, the team is hoping to get Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton back at some point, but there’s still a long stretch of time that this offense will have to manage without any of them.

One other improvement that the Yankees made beside trading for a pair of bats over the course of the deadline was calling up their top prospect, George Lombard Jr. One of the best prospects in all of baseball, Lombard made his MLB debut on Tuesday and launched a solo homer for his first career MLB hit in his second at-bat. It proved to be a valuable insurance run as the offense only produced two runs overall that night, and with the team similarly offensively-challenged on Wednesday Lombard had a chance to add to his early accolades. In the bottom of the eighth following two quick outs, New York worked a pair of walks to bring Lombard up to the plate as the go-ahead run. It was probably unfair to think it, but I couldn’t help but feel the thoughts “signature moment” creep into my head. If the kid managed to convert there, there was no doubt that the Stadium would’ve exploded.

Of course, that moment did not come to be. Ryne Stanek managed to overwhelm the 21-year-old rookie with a pair of fastballs up and got him to expand the zone, striking him out to end the threat and the last real opportunity the Yankees had to tie the game up. Ben Rice walked in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs, but Ali Sánchez got caught looking at strike three to end it. That the Yankees’ hopes are riding on Lombard being one of the sparkplugs to an offense that has so desperately craved one is definitely unfair to him, but his debut showed that he’s clearly got the talent. His play on the field has been tremendous, his defense already looking like a veteran as scouts predicted he’d shine there. But what can we realistically expect from his bat, and what can we dare to hope for?

Projections are never quite kind to rookies debuting midseason, as they simply don’t have a lot to work off of and expect the rigors of facing MLB pitchers for the first time to be a fitting challenge. Lombard is no exception in that category, with Steamer giving him an 87 wRC+ in 39 games played to close out the year, estimating him to display a modest walk rate but otherwise struggle to make much contact. Examining his trends from the minor leagues show that Lombard has always taken a step back initially on promoting to a new level, needing a month or so to find his footing before getting into a groove and displaying his normal level of excellence. That also doesn’t bode well considering there’s only two months left in the regular season.

Lombard is riding one of his biggest hot streaks into this first foray of the major leagues, though. He owned a 30-game on-base streak down in the minors prior to his promotion, and has collected a hit in each of his first two games here in New York. He’s displayed his power already, and he seems like a natural at short turning some clutch double plays in his short stay already. I don’t think anyone is expecting him to explode onto the scene and carry the offense on his back, but if he can stay on the track that he’s found since returning from a brief IL stint earlier this year there’s potential for him to be the third or fourth most valuable bat on the team down the stretch, a significant piece of the puzzle. I think he’ll surpass that 87 wRC+ estimate with relative ease, and perhaps push into the above-average production right away that would really turn things around for this lineup.

We’ve got an off-day ahead of us while the Yankees await their next opponent, but we’ve still got some things going on around here. Andrés starts our day off with a look at how Ryan Weathers has adjusted his pitch repertoire to cut down on his unseemly home run rate, and Sam will have the Rivalry Roundup as both the Rays and Red Sox unfortunately continue to stack wins. Jonathan relives the career of Ron Davis and his emergence as a key Yankees reliever defining the setup man role, while Scott looks at the suddenly stacked RailRiders roster as they get an injection with the trio of Anthony Volpe, Jasson Domínguez, and Max Schuemann arriving and focuses on the potential for Volpe to learn second base while down there.

Today’s Matchup:

Off-day

Omaha Storm Chasers 5, Toledo Mud Hens 1 (box)

The Storm Chasers evened the series up by knocking around the Hens bullpen on Wednesday.

Dylan File got the start, and he had perhaps his best start of the year for the Hens. He fired six innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts. Omaha got to him for a run in the top of the first, but otherwise they rarely even threatened.

In the fourth, Brett Callahan got the Hens starter with a leadoff single. He took third on a Justice Bigbie ground out, and Callahan went on to steal third base. Cal Stevenson walked, and Andrew Navigato came through with a sacrifice fly to tie things up.

The Hens never really put together a good scoring opportunity again. Tyler Mattison gave up a two-run homer in the eighth as the Storm Chasers took the lead. Corey Julks doubled with one-out in the bottom half but was stranded. Nick Sandlin coughed up a solo shot in the ninth and then another run to make it 5-1 Omaha.

Stevenson: 2-2, 2B, 2 BB

File: 6.0 IP, ER, 5 H, BB, 6 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Thursday.

Erie SeaWolves 10, Altoona Curve 7 (box)

This was a wild one. The Curve blew up Hayden Minton in the fourth and scored seven runs total. The SeaWolves then turned it on and roared back to win.

Minton wasn’t getting much swing and miss, but he cruised through three innings before things quickly unraveled in the fourth. He gave up a two-run homer, and then a parade of hits, along with a Stephen Hrustich error, led to three more runs. Minton left after issuing a walk and Yosber Sanchez took over in a deep jam. He immediately gave up a run scoring double to right field. The relay from Zyhir Hope to Max Burt home to Thayron Liranzo cut down a second runner at the plate, but one more single made it 7-0 before the inning finally ended.

Sanchez wiggled his way out of trouble in the fifth after hitting a batter and giving up a one-out walk, and then the offense came alive in the bottom half.

Hrustrich started them off with a single and Burt doubled. Seth Stephenson grounded one to third and Hrustich scored as Altoona made an error on the play. Peyton Graham singled in Burt, and Stephenson scored on a Josue Briceño ground out.

In the sixth, Andrew Jenkins and E.J. Exposito led off with singles and Hrustich walked to load the bases. A new reliever took over and walked Burt to force in a run, and Stephenson ripped a two-run double to left. Suddenly it was a 7-6 game and Briceño later tied things up with a sacrifice fly.

In the seventh, Jenkins tripled and scored on an Exposito ground ball. In the eighth, Graham led off with a single and rode home on Briceño’s sixth home run of the season. That made it 10-7, giving the SeaWolves a little cushion.

Johan Simon held this all together with two strong innings of relief in the sixth and seventh, striking out four. Tyler Owens handled the final two innings to earn the save.

Jenkins: 3-5, 2 R, 3B

Graham: 2-5, R, RBI, 2 K

Stephenson: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B

Briceño: 1-4, R, 4 RBI, K

Minton: 3.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:05 p.m. ET start on Thursday at UPMC Park.

West Michigan Whitecaps 11, Fort Wayne TinCaps 1 (box)

Ben Jacobs put together a great outing, and five different Whitecaps homered in this one as they crushed Fort Wayne on Wednesday.

Jacobs fired 5.2 innings of one run ball in this one. He allowed just three hits and a walk, striking out five. The lefty threw 59 of 81 pitches for strikes, and had both the breaking stuff and his changeup working throughout his day.

He quickly had a nice lead to work with. Bryce Rainer was the second batter of the game and he torched his 10th home run to center field for a quick 1-0 lead. Jackson Strong followed with his 10th home run, another solo shot, and it was 2-0.

Juan Hernandez bashed a three-run shot in the second with Luke Shliger and Samuel Gil on board. 5-0 Whitecaps.

In the top of the third, the TinCaps walked three straight hitters to start the inning. Cristian Santana lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0, and that was just the beginning of Santana’s night. Jacobs allowed a run in the bottom of the third to make it 6-1.

Rainer doubled to open the fourth inning but was stranded. However, in the fifth they were right back at it. Gil singled with one out and Santana launched a two-run shot to right field. 8-1 Whitecaps.

Shliger led off the seventh with a solo shot of his own. Two batters later, Santana came up again and crushed a solo shot to center field for his second of the game. 10-1 Whitecaps. He would add a third homer in the top of the ninth to complete one heck of a game. That made seven home runs on the night for the Whitecaps, which is a franchise record.

Santana: 3-4, 3 R, 5 RBI, 3 HR, K

Strong: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, HR, BB

Rainer: 2-6, R, RBI, 2B, HR, 4 K

Jacobs (W, 3-2): 5.2 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 5 K

Coming Up Next: First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Dunedin Blue Jays 11, Lakeland Flying Tigers 0 (Gm1)(F/7)(box)

Game 1 was pretty uneventful for the Flygers after they were rained out on Tuesday. Brant Hurter made a rehab appearance, but otherwise the offense was quiet and the Blue Jays won easily.

Hurter got knocked around for three runs in his first rehab appearances after spending two months on the IL with lumbar back issues. Xiomer Guacache took over with just one out in the first and gave up two runs of his own as well. Caleb Leys then surrendered three runs in 2.2 innings of work. Bryce Alewine gave up three more in the seventh.

Carson Rucker had two hits, and Roberto Campos managed one as his rehab continues. Enough said about this one.

Rucker: 2-2, BB

Hurter (L, 0-1): 0.1 IP, 3 ER, H, BB, K

Lakeland Flying Tigers 6, Dunedin Blue Jays 3 (box)

Paul Wilson was wild in this one and gave up three early runs, but the Flying Tigers offense decided that was enough and stormed back to take Game 2.

Jesus Pinto kicked off the offense with a one-out triple in the bottom of the second. Anibal Salas singled him in and then rode home on Zach MacDonald’s 18th home run of the season.

So they had a 3-0 lead, but Wilson, after two decent innings of work, walked the first three batters he faced in the top of third. Luke Hoskins took over, but allowed all three inherited runners to score, tying the game.

The Flying Tigers roared right back. Salas led off the bottom of the fourth with a double, and MacDonald stepped to the dish and smashed his second homer of the game for a 5-3 lead. That one left the bat at 111.7 mph.

In the bottom of the sixth, Pinto and Salas singled to start the inning, and MacDonald walked. A wild pitch scored Pinto, but that was all they’d get.

Grayson Grinsell helped the cause with three scoreless innings with five strikeouts, though he walked three. Donye Evans took over after a leadoff single in the seventh, and he shut the door to earn his second save.

MacDonald: 2-2, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR, BB

Salas: 3-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B

Pinto: 2-3, 2 R, 3B

Wilson: 2.0 IP, 3 ER, 0 H, 6 BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:30 p.m. ET start on Thursday.

SNY | Ben Krimmel: Aaron Judge has been cleared to resume light activity, the first positive update since he landed on the IL on May 31st. The first step has been some upper-body resistance work in the weight room, and Judge was also seen running and stretching on the field before Wednesday’s game. While acknowledging his broken rib is still ailing him, the Yankee captain expressed urgency to return, noting he’s “running out of days” before the end of the season and affirming he’ll return before then. Manager Aaron Boone also provided an update on right-hander Clarke Schmidt, who’s progressing in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. He recently tossed a live batting practice (which was cut short by cramps) and could be nearing a rehab assignment.

The Athletic | Tyler Kepner: ($) Two new Yankees, George Lombard Jr. and Heliot Ramos, debuted Tuesday. They took different paths to the Bronx, with Lombard a long-touted internal prospect and Ramos a fifth-year player acquired from the Giants at the deadline, but both reveled in their new home. The 21-year-old Lombard was stoic. “I have pretty good relations with a lot of people here, so it’s not like a completely new environment,” he said. “When I first get here, everybody’s coming up to say, ‘What’s up, congrats,’ all the guys telling me to enjoy this moment, it only happens once.” Lombard indeed made the most of his moment, homering and starring in the field in a memorable 2-0 victory. Ramos, who grew up in Puerto Rico rooting for the likes of Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter, admitted to shaking with excitement upon learning of the trade, trumpeting the “high bar” set by his new organization.

ESPN: The ESPN team debates the Yankees’ trade deadline, in which the team added some thump to their lineup but failed to address top needs behind the plate and in the bullpen. Jeff Passan and Buster Olney agree they remain “squarely in the mix” in a crowded AL picture while Jorge Castillo and Bradford Doolittle lament their inability to secure a right-handed catcher. Ultimately, the consensus is that the Yankees’ fortunes will likely hinge on the return of their captain, alongside Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger.

Baseball America: An update of Baseball America’s venerable top 100 prospect list after a flurry of moves at the deadline. Lombard leads the pack for the Yankees, coming in at number 15 after slotting at 46 before the season. Next is Dax Kilby, the team’s first-rounder last year, at 37 (up from 61 pre-season). Carlos Lagrange, the fireballer who debuted at 93 this spring, ranks 79th. And Elmer Rodríguez, who’s started four games in the big leagues this year, slides back from 58 to 83.

Defector | Chris Thompson: From enemy territory, a begrudging celebration of Lombard’s debut from a self-described Yankee hater. Thompson gives a blow-by-blow of his well-worn anti-Yankee armor being pierced Tuesday night, beginning with a charming pregame interview with Lombard’s parents and ending with his solo homer in the fifth, which the writer conceded caused him to hoot and holler in joy.

Baseball is a funny sport sometimes. There aren’t very many sports or opportunities in life where you can get embarrassed and then come back less than 24 hours later to face the exact same team and completely flip the script and result of the two contests. Thankfully, baseball isn’t most sports and that’s exactly what the D-Backs were able to accomplish on Wednesday night, taking a shutout performance all the way into the top of the ninth while absolutely teeing off on San Diego pitching throughout the night. The victory not only gave the D-Backs some extra padding in their Wild Card lead, but also put them that much closer to securing the season series against the Friar’s – an important tiebreak consideration as we enter the last quarter of the season and sprint towards the playoffs.

The starting rotation has been a weakness for the team throughout the season – led by disappointing results from Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen. That disappointment and weakness has opened the opportunity for a pair of rookies to make their case for a rotation spot in Mitch Bratt and Kohl Drake, two of the three players the Rangers exchanged in the Merrill Kelly trade last season. The two rookies have had an uneven introduction to the big leagues in their first eight combined starts, but Bratt’s sixth career start was a huge step forward, giving the youngster his first big league win. I don’t want to overstate the performance. It’s always impressive when a rookie is able to complete seven innings of scoreless baseball, regardless of the relative weakness of the opposing offense. But it’s also not as if Bratt had pinpoint command of all of his pitches, throwing slightly more than half of his 92 pitches on the night for a strike.I think it’s more accurate to describe the outing as effectively wild rather than wildly effective. Regardless, limiting the Padres to just three walks is an important developmental milestone for the young lefty whose walk rate has skyrocketed since making his debut and will be a closely watched development moving forward.

Of course, with the way the Arizona offense was cooking tonight, an effective position player could have likely earned a win on the mound. It was exactly the kind of balanced offensive attack that Torey Lovullo often preaches with valuable contributions coming from nearly every player in the lineup as seven out of nine of the starters got at least one hit or more. Even better, it didn’t overly rely on a single method for scoring, but featured sacrifice flies, home runs, and timely hits with runners in scoring position. They got the party started in the third with a sacrifice fly from Gabriel Moreno scoring Corbin Carroll who had walked, stolen second, and moved to third already. Tim Tawa added another run on a two-out blast off a lifeless splitter, but it wasn’t until the fourth that the party really started. After James McCann led off the inning with a harmless flyout, his teammates started a hit parade with five straight knocks and then a run-scoring walk with the bases loaded to run the advantage all the way out to five runs and knock Casey Mize – the brand new pitching acquisition from the Tigers – out of the game. Sadly for the Padres, a pitching change to Kyle Hart did little to slow down the onslaught with a Tawa sacrifice fly and two-run double from Ildemaro Vargas ending the loop on the shiny new pitching toy the team acquired earlier this week.

Tonight some friends of mine are marking one year of dating with a celebration at our regular karaoke night where everyone was encouraged to write a love note and put it in a “love box” to be read from in between songs at karaoke – where everyone is, of course, encouraged to sing love songs. I did not get to go to this celebration, because instead I was watching the Mariners play the Tigers, which was definitely not a lovefest. Instead, the game devolved into the Mariners’ first brawl of the season, while also evolving to a 4-2 Mariners win. I don’t have room for 69 Love Songs, but I do have room for nine innings’ worth of love songs.

(I originally thought I’d use only songs from the Magnetic Fields’ 1999 triple album 69 Love Songs for this recap, but honestly? A lot of those songs that would be thematically appropriate for this game are, unfortunately, filler. So we improvise.)

Love Is Strange

Appropriately enough on Jimothy Night, honoring our local PNW cryptid, tonight’s game was weird. Bryan Woo gave up as many hits as he did hit by pitches (3), which is also how many HBP he had in the entire 2024 season. But Woo also went seven shutout innings, furthering his extreme home-road splits, thanks to the Tigers’ uber-aggressive approach, and was cruising with a low pitch count for most of the game, outside of one inning where the Tigers definitely should have scored and then just…didn’t, thanks to some incredible outfield defense from [checks notes] the Mariners corner infielders? The benches also cleared in this game, although appropriately enough for these two teams no punches were thrown, making it more of an energetic on-field discussion. So yeah. Weird game. Jimothy approves.

Autumn Love

As the sun sets on summer and turns to autumn, it feels like so too is the sun setting on the Mariners’ chances in the division. The vibes today were not great following an 8-0 drubbing by the Tigers last night which many were calling “the worst loss of the season (so far)”. And for the first few innings, it felt like the Mariners were going to continue their offensive somnambulism into this game. It might have been a bullpen game for the Tigers, but Drew Anderson looked plenty capable of putting the Mariners down early, despite some pressure from the new guys in the bottom of the third, as Brendan Donovan and Taylor Ward checked in with back-to-back groundball base hits, unfortunately quickly erased by an inning-ending GIDP from the normally-steady Cole Young. The only other Mariner who got anything off Anderson was Julio Rodríguez, who worked a 1-2 count into a walk to lead off the second (before getting erased on a first-pitch swing GIDP from Josh Naylor) and in the fourth, beat out a two-out infield hit (probably an error) against Colt Keith. That was enough for AJ Hinch, who yanked lefty Tyler Holton out of the ‘pen to face Naylor, who popped out to end the inning. Sometimes love isn’t enough, and this autumn love definitely wasn’t feeling like enough.

In Spite of Ourselves

The Tigers had a good chance to break this game open in the fourth against Bryan Woo, but then…just…didn’t score. It started with Gleyber Torres, leading off the inning, knocking what looked like a sure double off the right field wall, but Dominic Canzone played the ball perfectly on the wall and then uncorked an absolute laser of a throw to keep Torres at first. I apologize Dom, I did not know you Had It Like That.

That limiting of the extra base would prove to be important because Dillon Dingler followed that up with a hit; however, Torres violated the spirit of the Gentleman’s Agreement that governs Randy Arozarena’s third base play and attempted to take third, forcing Randy to do an Effort and throw out Torres at third. That allowed Dingler to second, and then things got a little trickier when Woo grazed Riley Greene with a slider in an 0-2 count, aka the most Unintentional Hit By Pitch Ever (or at least since the third inning, when Woo hit rookie Max Clark with a pitch in a 2-2 count, and Clark dropped his elbow guard into a sinker). Trying to get back into it, Woo sent over a first-pitch sinker on the plate to Colt Keith and Arozarena, not known for sparkling outfield defense, showed that he was still pretty ticked off at the Tigers disrespecting his defense. Only Randy himself gets to do that.

A very pumped-up Bryan Woo then came back to strike out Spencer Torkelson to end the inning, because we cannot be wasting a night when the MLB video recap for this game has not one but two Randy defense highlights. In spite of themselves, the Mariners went into the back half of this game still knotted at 0-0, sitting on a rainbow.

You Oughta Know (Better than that)

Sometimes hate is just the flip side of love, as Alanis knows, and now Julio. The Mariners finally got on the board in the sixth inning of this game against Tigers reliever Brenan Hanifee, who has the unlucky distinction of having taken Tarik Skubal’s roster spot after he was dealt to the Tigers. Hanifee was brought in to face Randy Arozarena with two outs, replacing lefty Tyler Holton who did not allow a hit over two innings, and Randy promptly greeted him with a double. Then, and this is the part I think AJ Hinch should go to jail for, Hinch instructed Hanifee to intentionally walk Dominic Canzone to get to Julio Rodríguez for a right-on-right battle. Julio…did not take kindly to that.

Julio saw that sinker on the plate, decided he liked it, and crushed it oppo to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead. Next time Hanifee will know.

The First Ever Time I Saw Your Face (I swung at your first pitch)

First pitch swings were kind of a theme on the night. Bryan Woo had six outs on first-pitch swings from the Tigers tonight. He completed seven innings on just 91 pitches, and the majority of the traffic he faced was self-inflicted (HBPs and a walk). After putting down the threat in the fourth, he had to navigate around a hit by pitch in the fifth and a walk in the sixth (with again, some solid outfield defense from Canzone on a diving catch) before allowing his third and final hit of the day in the seventh: a solid line-drive single from Clark, the rookie. Catcher Eduardo Valencia ran it to a full count, but Woo was able to get out of it with a well-timed GIDP, and he was pumped.

Kiss With A Fist

With the Mariners up 3-0 and Woo having turned in seven strong and a rested bullpen after yesterday’s blowout loss, it felt like this game could be put to bed. Right? Wrong. Gabe Speier came in to work the eighth and got his first two outs before Riley Greene came up. Historians will argue about what happened next. I would say, Speier didn’t have great command tonight and was trying to pitch Greene inside and missing. AJ Hinch would say (ideally from his jail cell) that Speier was intentionally trying to hit Greene after Cal Raleigh had taken 95 to the ribs in the previous inning from reliever Enmanuel De Jesus who – and this part might be important – was only walking 5% of batters at Triple-A this year. Either way, feelings were hurt, and maybe also ribs and thighs, and the benches cleared, and at the end of it Gabe Speier was ejected – he walked off with no argument – and so was Dan Wilson, who had quite a bit more to say about it. We’ll find out if there are any knock-on effects from this tomorrow. Here’s a link to the non-brawl if you wanna see it.

Love You So Bad

The bad news here is that Eduard Bazardo had to come in for Speier, and because this is how things have been going for Bazardo lately, he immediately gave up a two-run bomb to Dillon Dingler to make this game a much closer 3-2. I love you Eduard, even when you’re so, so bad. But please try being good again.

Thirteen (home runs by the end of the season for Colt?)

Colt Emerson might look like he is thirteen years old and as tall as one blueberry, but he has a love of the bright lights. He picked a great time for his eighth (!) home run of the year, a loud, answer-back shot off De Jesus to pad the lead back out to 4-2. Eight home runs already? They grow up so fast!

(Andrés Muñoz) Is Still The One

Staked to a two-run lead now, Andrés Muñoz came in and obliterated his slate of Tigers hitters, striking out Colt Keith on a nasty changeup, Spencer Torkelson on the slider, and then getting a little help from a nice play from Cole Young (contributing in the field if not at the plate tonight) for a game-ending groundout. It was about as dominant as we’ve seen Muñoz in a while, and a very satisfying end to a weird game. I have to say, I loved it.

I promised you nine love songs and unlike the Mariners, I’d never short you, so here’s one last song and a request for the Mariners for the rest of the season, however it might go. (Mind where you open that for some spicy language.)

PHOENIX — Casey Mize was offered plenty of excuses for the worst outing of his career Wednesday night in his San Diego Padres debut.

There was the disruption of his life after being traded from Detroit to San Diego.

There were the goodbyes from his old Tigers teammates and introductions to new Padres teammates.

There was making his first National League start at Chase Field in Arizona with the high altitude and dry air.

Mize heard all of the alibis, and batted away every single one of them.

“Pretty tough time to have the worst start of my career, you know?’’ Mize said after the Padres’ 10-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. “Kind of put us in a really tough spot and (without) a chance to win.’’

Everything was going OK the first couple of innings, but the Diamondbacks scored two runs in the third inning, including a Tim Tawa home run, and in the fourth, everything unraveled. Mize gave up five consecutive hits, a walk, and departed with the bases loaded. When the inning mercifully ended, the Diamondbacks had scored six more runs.

“Obviously, throughout the outing, I could definitely tell that I was just off, not being able to execute,’’ Mize said. “I knew it was going to be a bit of a grind, and then it obviously snowballed on me there.’’

Mize’s final line: 3.1 innings, 9 hits, 8 runs, 8 earned runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout.

It was the most runs Mize has ever permitted in 103 career starts.

“So frustrated by that,’’ Mize said. “It seems like I just couldn’t execute a plan, falling behind in the counts, things were kind of elevated, and even when I got some good counts, I just couldn’t get below the zone, so they got a barrel on the ball.

“I was looking for that swing and miss.’’

Mize got only two of them the entire night, throwing 77 pitches, just 47 for strikes.

On an encouraging afternoon of Yankees injury developments — most notably Aaron Judge getting cleared for some light activities — the club also received positive news concerning Clarke Schmidt. 

Schmidt, who had to cut short a live batting practice Tuesday because of what he believed and hoped was cramping in his forearm, was informed it indeed “seems like” it was cramping, Aaron Boone said. 

“Clarke we feel like is probably good to go,” the manager said before Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Cardinals in The Bronx. “He got a lot of treatment [Tuesday]. The doc didn’t seem overly concerned.” 

The Yankees at least felt a level of concern when Schmidt, who is beginning to build up following 2025 Tommy John surgery, felt the discomfort, which prompted him to throw two “innings” rather than three. 

The next step for Schmidt, who was not expected to throw Wednesday, will be to play catch Thursday “and then hopefully do his side [session] at some point this weekend,” Boone said. 

Without further hiccups, Schmidt could graduate soon into a rehab assignment. 

Considering general manager Brian Cashman did not upgrade the bullpen at the trade deadline in part because he felt the club would have internal reinforcements, Schmidt’s eventual return to the staff has grown in importance. 

Cody Bellinger, who is a week and a half into what is expected to be a four-to-six-week absence with a hamstring strain, took on-field batting practice for the first time since suffering the injury July 25. 

“That was a big step,” said Bellinger, who added that he has been feeling well but lacks a clear return timetable. 

Bellinger has been running — though not at full speed — in a straight line and has several more hurdles to clear before he is ready for activation or a rehab assignment. 

Heliot Ramos (1-for-3 with a second-inning double) picked up his first hit as a Yankee. 

Kervin Castro, Tim Hill and Paul Blackburn combined for 3 ²/₃ scoreless innings. 

The bullpen has pitched to a majors-best 2.56 ERA in the past 55 games, holding opponents to a .200 batting average. 

The best Yankees hitter in the past four weeks: Austin Wells. 

Since July 9, the catcher has posted a .931 OPS with four home runs in 18 games. The Yankees did not add another catcher at the deadline partly because of the prices and partly because of Wells’ uptick. 

“I do feel like over the last few weeks, there’s been some steady improvement,” Boone said before Wells went 1-for-2, “and hopefully moving forward, more in line with the presence I feel like he could be, especially at the bottom of the order. I feel like he’s getting closer to that version.”