LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 16: Logan Henderson #43 of the Milwaukee Brewers looks on during the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, August 16, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Tony Macon/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Yesterday, the Milwaukee Brewers became the first team to reach 80 wins with a 2-1 series-opening victory over the Braves and ace Chris Sale.
Things will get a little easier — although not quite easy — against Atlanta’s starting pitcher for today’s game, Martín Pérez. The 35-year-old Pérez doesn’t throw hard (89.3 mph average fastball velocity this year), but he’s hung around in the majors since 2012 thanks to his ability to limit barrels and induce ground balls. He’s having the second-best season of his career, with a 3.15 ERA and 133 ERA+, although — as you might expect from someone with that profile — his 4.14 FIP is quite a bit worse.
On the mound for Milwaukee will be rookie right-hander Logan Henderson, who has a 2.44 ERA through 17 career starts with the Brewers. Henderson has missed some time due to injury in each of the last couple of seasons, but when healthy, he’s been a revelation. He’s made 12 starts this year, pitching to a 2.70 ERA and an even-more-impressive 0.87 WHIP.
Before we get into today’s lineup, I wanted to share some news for those of you who haven’t seen it. When right-hander Brandon Woodruff left Milwaukee in late July, his plan was to undergo shoulder surgery, but his shoulder has reportedly shown remarkably unexpected healing, and his surgeon, Dr. Keith Meister, is no longer recommending surgery. Given the way Woodruff’s season has gone, it’s hard to fault anyone for not getting too optimistic just yet, but you never know. Even seeing him pitch out of the bullpen before the end of the year would be an unexpected — but pretty great — way for his season to end.
Just talked with Brandon Woodruff, who in a twist didn’t need surgery and will start throwing progression Wed. As he exhausted his options pre-surgery, 4-week scan showed unexpected healing, so he went to Dr. Meister, who said surgery was not recommended. “I’m thankful,” he said.
Could Brandon Woodruff pitch sometime this postseason? The Brewers are realistic about the challenge that lies ahead, but “it’s possible,” Pat Murphy said. https://t.co/59AHU7SIAX
As for the lineup, no massive surprises today. Leading off will be Jackson Chourio, followed by Brice Turang and William Contreras, who went 4-for-4 with an RBI yesterday in a game the Brewers won by one run. Behind Contreras are Jake Bauers, the team leader in home runs with 22, and Andrew Vaughn, starting at first base with Bauers in right field. Rounding out the lineup are designated hitter Christian Yelich, third baseman Joey Ortiz, center fielder Luis Lara, and shortstop Cooper Pratt.
As usual, you can catch today’s game on Brewers.TV, WTMJ 620, and the Brewers Radio Network. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. CT.
Aug 20, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Raisel Iglesias (26) celebrates with catcher Sean Murphy (12) after defeating the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Braves could badly use a win Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee.
They’re 1-4 on their four-game, seven-day road trip this week entering this 2:10 EDT game at American Family Field. The Phillies, meanwhile, have won seven straight games to trim the NL East lead to four games.
Atlanta hopes Martín Pérez (8-7, 3.15 ERA) can return to his normally solid form after a rocky start Monday at the Twins.
Milwaukee is starting rookie right-hander Logan Henderson (7-2, 2.70) in his first career appearance against the Braves.
Tune in on BravesVision, 680 or however you watch/listen to the Braves and see if they can force a rubber match in Sunday night’s series finale at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
All Blacks score five tries against world champions
As first courses go, this was a delicious appetiser to a series that looks on course to live up to its billing. First blood goes to New Zealand, who withstood a barrage of South Africa scrum pressure and demonstrated a slickness that the double world champions could not live with, clinching a first win at Ellis Park since 2022.
By the end, South Africa had two men in the sin-bin and, given their status as the world’s leading side, this must goe down as a disintegration. There will be a backlash – it is hard to remember a time when South Africa were so inaccurate with the ball in hand – but credit New Zealand for producing a masterclass at weathering the storm and taking their chances.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 21: A detailed photo of the Players Weekend belt worn by Spencer Jones #78 of the New York Yankees during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on August 21, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Winning is nice. I like winning. Do you like winning? The Yankees have been winning.
With a victory in the Bronx last night, the Bombers have clinched a winning week, and will have two opportunities to make it a perfect week. Meanwhile, the Orioles, whom they just swept, bounced back to beat the Rays for the fourth time this week. That assistance from Baltimore has allowed New York to pull within three games of first place in the AL East.
The Yankees grabbed the initiative in the first of 10 games in this critical late-August homestand, finding more answers than the Blue Jays in a 3-1 win. Cam Schlittler wasn’t his absolute best, but still kept Toronto at bay while a hulking homer from Spencer Jones which just stayed fair proved the pivotal highlight. This Saturday afternoon will feature a familiar matchup on the mound as New York looks to take the series and get their revenge for last weekend.
I’m feeling some personal dèja vu from my last recap, which involved the Yankees playing the Blue Jays—with Ryan Weathers against Dylan Cease as the pitching matchup. That game, if you’ll recall, ended with the ever-so-rare extra-innings win on the road (despite a ninth-inning debacle) which kicked off the current five-game winning streak they find themselves riding. Ben Rice hit a huge two-run homer in the 10th inning to atone for his critical error the previous frame, and the Bombers escaped with a 1-2 split of that weekend’s battle.
Weathers and Cease both pitched brilliantly, but both ended with no-decisions. Cease left on the hook for the loss thanks to a booming double by George Lombard Jr. followed by an RBI hit from José Caballero (and a failed a Matrix choreography shoot). Weathers completed his sixth consecutive quality start with 7.1 innings of one-run ball, continuing his sensational second half. If he continues this roll and the bats meet him halfway, we could be looking at a breezy series win. We’ll see if the Jays have adjusted their approach from then.
It’s a day game after a night game, so there are some changes to announce from last night’s lineup. With the right-handed Cy Young candidate Cease on the hill, Aaron Boone’s card will look more familiar. Trent Grisham goes back to his leadoff spot ahead of Rice and Heliot Ramos. Luis García Jr. and Jones will bat ahead of Lombard in the middle third, then Jazz Chisholm Jr., Austin Wells, and third baseman Caballero pull up the rear. Hello Kitty will unfortunately not be able to come off the bench today.
For what it’s worth: the struggling Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who was placed on the concussion IL the previous weekend, is back in the Blue Jays’ lineup. New Jersey icon Davis Schneider was optioned to make room. Guerrero has obviously played quite a bit better at Yankee Stadium than at Rogers Centre. It’s a shame the latter is his home ballpark.
How to watch
Location: Yankee Stadium – Bronx, NY
First pitch: 1:35 pm ET
TV broadcast: YES, Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | SN590 THE FAN (TOR)
OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 30: Dustin Pedroia #64 of the Boston Red Soxs bats during the game against the Oakland Athletics at the Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland, California on August 30, 2006. The Athletics defeated the Red Sox 7-2. (Photo by Don Smith/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Twenty years ago today, Dustin Pedroia made his major league debut in Anaheim. It was a big moment for Red Sox Nation. The transition from the 2003-2005 Red Sox teams was happening and they were calling up a player who would define the next decade of Boston baseball.
In both the April and June updates to the SoxProspects rankings, Pedroia was the #4 prospect in the system. He was behind legends like Jonathan Papelbon (who would graduate while holding down the closer job), Jon Lester, Craig Hansen, and Jacoby Ellsbury. Hansen aside, that’s quite the top four guys.
Think of the possible back of the bullpen for 2006…
Pedroia was a second round draft pick in 2004 and made it to the majors just about two year later. As a shortstop. Yes, for a time there was a middle infield logjam with Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, and Jed Lowrie. No one knew who would shake out at second base and shortstop. Well, Theo probably knew. Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis were taking the other two spots because of another trade. That trade was Hanley finding himself on the Marlins in exchange for Josh Beckett, the aforementioned Lowell, and of course, Guillmero Mota.
The rest of the lineup against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim that August night?
Coco Crisp, CF
Mark Loretta, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Wily (not Fitzy) Mo Peña, LF
Mike Lowell 3B
Doug Mirabelli, C
Gabe Kapler, RF
and of course, Dustin Pedroia, SS.
Seeing Mirabelli listed you probably have a good idea who the starting pitcher was. You would be wrong.
This game was started by Kyle Snyder! Before he became the slow-walking pitching coach of the Tampa Bay Rays he was a pitcher for the Red Sox.
Snyder would be relieved by Kason Gabbard and Manny Delcarman.
Pedroia would be pinch hit for by Manny Ramirez. Manny doesn’t usually pinch hit at all, mostly because he’s in the lineup already. But there he was, ready to go.
The Sox would go on to lose that game but Dustin Pedroia would collect his first hit (a single to center field off Joe Saunders) and go on to have a great career. Starting with his Rookie of the Year the very next season. And an MVP. And three World Series rings.
He wasn’t even #15 yet in 2006. But he was a dirt dog.
Pedroia wouldn’t hit his first home run for a few more games – September 9th 2006 – and since the MLB Filmroom has zero Pedroia moments from his #64 days, I’ve taken the liberty of tracking it down.
Classic Don and Jerry reactions.
I’m sure someday he’ll start appearing as a regular in the Legends Box during Sox games and will get a fantastic response each time.
Can you believe it’s been 20 years? Do you have a favorite memory of Pedroia? A game you were at or watched?
The chances of New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton playing in the regular season have become more unlikely as he suffered another lower leg injury, this time a moderate-grade strain in his left calf.
Stanton was already on the injured list with a right calf injury, and this latest setback happened while he was running the bases during his rehab stint.
The 36-year-old has not played since April 24, and in his 24 games played, he hit .256 with three home runs and 14 RBIs.
"We're not ruling anything out," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Saturday, Aug. 22. "He'll obviously continue to work to try to get it right and hopefully be available. But obviously we're at a point in the calendar where it gets challenging, but you also never know."
Even with the absence of Stanton and reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge, who has missed 70 games this season because of a right rib stress fracture, the Yankees' power surge hasn't gone away, as they lead the AL in home runs with 176, in part due to the emergence of designated hitter Ben Rice, who has 34 home runs.
Stanton has two seasons remaining on a 13-year, $325 million contract he signed in 2014 when he was with the Miami Marlins. Next year, he is due $25 million, and the 2028 season is a club option with a $10 million buyout.
"Obviously, I'm bummed for him," Boone said. "He's been working his tail off every day here trying to get this thing right. I think you all know how badly he wants to be on that field contributing to a championship, so obviously that's disappointing. Hopefully, we just continue to work to get him right and healthy."
New York entered Saturday with a 73-55 record, good for second place in the AL East, three games back of the Tampa Bay Rays.
New-look Spurs were outclassed by Brentford, for whom Mamadou Sangaré had a debut to remember
The teams are out! Brentford wear their red and white stripes, while Spurs are in their blue, pink, purple and many more colours away kit. According to the marketing blurb, which presumably took upwards of 30 seconds to write, these are “never-before-seen visuals inspired by never-before-seen destinations”. They haven’t even tried to make anything up. No spurious allusions to local industry, significant figures, bus routes? Proper feet-on-the-desk vibes there. Anyway, we’ll be off in a minute.
Roberto De Zerbi speaks to Sky. “We have big confidence because all three [debut defenders] are very important players with experience and qualities … we have no problem with them … [Archie Gray, stand-in captain for the day] is very young but has a big personality … he deserves to be captain today … we do not have the complete squad today … but no excuses … the quality is enough to complete … [Brentford] have a clear style … very strong … we have to adapt … the Premier League is a very tough competition and we have to play in our way.”
Riders departed from Llanidloes in Mid Wales and passed through Rhayader and the Elan Valley, climbing at the Cambrian Mountains before the route took them to Nantmel, Crossgates, Bleddfa and Knighton.
Aug 15, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies (1) reacts before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Colin Hubbard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Mauricio Dubón’s versatility continues to be a major asset for the Braves.
He’s playing second base for the second time this season for Saturday’s 2:10 p.m. ET game at the Milwaukee Brewers, giving Ozzie Albies a rare designated hitter day.
This is well timed because, as Scott Coleman pointed out, things have been trending down for awhile now for Albies.
Ozzie Albies has a 73 wRC+ since the first week of May. Approaching 400 plate appearances in that time. They'll likely pick up his final option for 2027 because it's so cheap, but I think we're just about done
Drake Baldwin is back atop the lineup against right-handed Brewers starter Logan Henderson, followed by Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson and Michael Harris II.
Albies, DHing for just the second time in his career (both this season), will hit fifth, followed by Dubón, Mike Yastrzemski, Austin Riley and Jim Jarvis at shortstop.
This will be the first time anyone on the Braves’ roster has faced Henderson, who debuted last season and was on the injured list when Milwaukee traveled to Atlanta in June.
The Brewers are running back a similar lineup to the one from Friday’s series opener, making a few order swaps and bringing in Christian Yelich at DH after Gary Sanchez held the role on Friday.
Although Braves starter Martín Pérez is in his 15th major league season, only a handful of active Brewers have extensive experience against him. Sanchez (5-for-22 with two homers) is the only Milwaukee hitter with more than 14 career at-bats against Pérez.
Old friend William Contreras (4-for-10) actually has the best batting average on the team against Pérez aside from Joey Ortiz (3-for-4). Overall, the Brewers are a combined .281 against Pérez lifetime with six homers, three doubles, 18 RBIs, a .517 slugging percentage and .850 OPS.
There were victories for newly promoted Hull City and Ipswich Town, while Leeds United and Everton also got their campaigns off to winning starts
Championship: Millwall have doubled their lead against Norwich, with Tairyk Arconte scoring his second goal of the game from a Jake Cooper knockdown at a set-piece. It’s 2-0 at the Den and hapless Norwich are staring down the barrel of their second league defeat of the season in two games.
Manchester United: The club has agreed a deal worth an initial £65m for Carlos Baleba and the 22-year-old Brighton midfielder will have his medical this weekend, writes Jamie Jackson.
Wolves sink teeth into Preston; Blackburn stun Boro
Southampton’s late show leaves Stoke pointless
Charlton maintained their perfect start to the Championship season with a 2-1 victory at West Ham in a pulsating London derby to pile more pressure on the Hammers manager, Nuno Espírito Santo.
Lloyd Jones and Tyreece Campbell put Charlton 2-0 ahead before Joel Piroe, signed on loan from Leeds, marked his first appearance for the home side with a goal that set up a frantic finish. Taty Castellanos then missed a stoppage-time penalty for West Ham that would have salvaged a point.
The Yankees activated the slugger from the IL ahead of Sunday's series finale with the Blue Jays in the Bronx.
Bellinger was sidelined for just under a month due to a left hamstring strain.
He had been progressing his way back over the past few weeks, and the team expected that he'd be able to make his return before the end of this weekend.
Bellinger appeared in two rehab games, and was deemed ready to come back.
"Very excited," Boone said Saturday. "He's had a very good rehab process here, and he's gotten tested well enough the past two nights and has gotten a handful of at-bats, so we feel like he's ready to roll."
Bellinger went 1-for-6 over his two Triple-A rehab games but was scorching hot before landing on the IL, hitting .322 with three doubles and a .903 OPS over his last 12 games.
Getting him back in the mix is certainly a huge boost for a Yankees offense that's been operating without three of their top bats in Bellinger, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton.
In a corresponding roster move, the Yankees have optioned UTL Max Schuemann back to Triple-A.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees looks on during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium on June 20, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The injuries have come in bunches for Giancarlo Stanton this season, and Saturday morning brought even more bad news for the veteran slugger. Stanton suffered a “moderate” left calf strain (not the right calf which he injured back in April, as Bryan Hoch reported) after falling while running. Although the Yankees don’t want to rule anything out, Aaron Boone told reporters he may not return this year.
The Yankees probably already had to prepare for the possibility that Stanton would be unable to contribute to their playoff run this October, and this news essentially seals the deal. The 36-year-old DH played in 24 of the first 26 team games this season, hitting .256/.302/.422 with three home runs before straining his right calf in Houston on April 24th. Since then, he’s struggled to get back into playing shape. In June, he tweaked that calf again, forcing him to miss more time. Now, with an injury to the other calf, his Murphy’s Law season continues.
There isn’t much to say other than, woof. It’s hard not to feel for Stanton, who has tried his best to return as a contributor for the stretch run; and we only need remember his exploits from 2024 to know how much of a difference-maker he can be. Alas, his body has refused to cooperate. That said, if this is indeed curtains for him in 2026, the Yankees’ general postseason plan doesn’t figure to change much. Ben Rice has been closer to a full-time DH since Luis García Jr. came aboard at the deadline, and a healthy Stanton in the mix would likely have just given the Yankees another pinch-hitting option late in games; likely not a starting role.
After this season, Stanton has one guaranteed year remaining on the megadeal he signed with the Marlins all the way back in 2015. There is a team option for 2028 which the Yankees are all but certain not to exercise. Will the Yankees give Giancarlo a chance for one last hurrah since they collect insurance when he’s on the IL anyway, or will they decide to at last conclude this wild, up-and-down saga of Stanton in New York? Time will tell.
With Castillo giving up dingers left and right, Lindor is a good bet to go deep on Saturday.
Ed Scimia's 2026 Transparency Record
ML/RL bets: 15-23, -9.29 units
Over/Under bets: 14-22, -9.09 units
Mets vs White Sox weather
A steady wind blowing out to right field should provide some help for both lineups tonight.
Mets vs White Sox odds
Moneyline: Mets +100 | White Sox -104
Run line: Mets -1.5 (+170) | White Sox +1.5 (-178)
Over/Under: Over 8.5 (+108) | Under 8.5 (-113)
Mets vs White Sox trend
Luis Castillo's teams have gone 3-8 straight up in his last 11 starts. Find more MLB betting trends for Mets vs. White Sox.
How to watch Mets vs White Sox and game info
Location
Rate Field, Chicago, IL
Date
Saturday, August 22, 2026
First pitch
7:10 p.m. ET
TV
SNY, CHSN
Mets starting pitcher
Christian Scott (4-3, 3.51 ERA)
White Sox starting pitcher
Luis Castillo (4-9, 4.99 ERA)
Mets vs White Sox latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
If you were an outsider to Cubs/Mariners on Friday night, it was a thrilling back and forth game. The Mariners appear to be a team on the outside looking in, though they are within striking distance of a division title in a down year for the AL West. Despite that, this had that feel of playoff baseball, with each team surviving big blows from the other team only to keep on battling. These are the days that I most hate the ghost runner in extra innings. A competitive back and forth game between two teams that are playing well decided because one team didn’t score in the top half. I’m not sitting around hoping that a competitive game will just get snuffed out.
The Cubs have won a bunch of these, so I’m not going to sour grapes it from a Cub perspective. To be fair when it went extras, I thought there was a good chance of the Cubs adding yet another last team at bat win to their resume. There is some overlap in these two numbers, but the Cubs lead MLB with 13 walk-off wins and also lead MLB with 11 extra inning wins. Add in some games where the Cubs took the lead at home in the bottom of the eighth or on the road in the top of the ninth and the Cubs have won a lot of their games in their last at bat.
Friday night wasn’t one of those. This was their seventh extra-inning loss. They’ve also been on the wrong end of a good handful of these games at the very end. The good news is that Cub baseball has been competitive down to the end of way more games than not. And looking over the various metrics, a last at bat decision is the most common Cub occurrence (in one direction or the other) and the next most common is the Cubs blowing out their opponent. So if you were watching Cubs baseball at any time this year, there is a fair chance you were being entertained.
That doesn’t provide a lot of comfort, though, when the Cubs had their last three hitters in their lineup up for the 10th inning while the Mariners were in their middle third. The only silver lining was Nico Hoerner being the runner for the Cubs and he did steal third, but it was too late and the Cubs didn’t get him home. The Mariners were able to use a sacrifice and an RBI single to walk it off.
Matthew Boyd had an uneven start for the Cubs, so he’s had a couple of rougher ones after a long stretch of very good ones. The Cubs have six weeks to get Boyd and Clay Holmes dialed in so they can try to win a tough postseason series. The Cub bullpen was very good, including the return of Daniel Palencia. That was great to see. Ryan Zeferjahn was on the mound for the loss. Pitching in extra innings has about the most generous grading curve ever from me. If you throw a scoreless inning, I’m going to praise you. It is literally designed to produce immediate scoring. If you don’t allow a big crooked number, I’m basically giving you a pass. So I’m not frustrated with Ryan about Friday’s outcome. I see the talent and why they landed him. I can’t imagine how you have him on a playoff roster at this point. Again, six weeks to try to unlock something usable there.
Close doesn’t count very often and I don’t imagine it’s a lot of cushion for anyone who stayed up late to watch that game. Another day off of the calendar. Another tough road trip. The good news is that this team is positioned very well as second place teams go. The bad news is that it’s going to be extremely difficult to catch the Brewers without sweeping the head to head games, a a VERY tall order indeed.
Three Positives:
Alex Bregman looks like a world beater in the second half. Two more home runs and three driven in. Added another hit on top of that. The season line creeps up to .258/.347/.418. Those first two numbers are now within shouting distance of his career numbers. He’s going to need to stay on a tear with his power numbers. But he has now matched last season’s homer number and exceeded his runs scored and runs driven in, though those last two numbers are very much context driven.
Ian Happ had a double and a solo homer (and three strikeouts). The batting average is unsightly at .216 but his on base (.323) and slug (.414) aren’t far off of his career numbers either.
Pete Crow-Armstrong with another leadoff homer and was also intentionally walked in the game. 40/40 is slowly coming into shape. He’s got to stay locked in, but what a monster season he is having.
Welcome back, Daniel Palencia! He threw a scoreless inning that included two strikeouts.
Game 129, August 21: Mariners 6, Cubs 5 (74-55)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
WPA Play of the Game: Leo Rivas’ walk-off single in the tenth. (.371)
Cubs Play of the Game: Alex Bregman’s solo homer in the ninth to tie. (.366)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 128 Winner: Clay Holmes with 47 of 70 votes.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
Pete Crow-Armstrong +28
Alex Bregman +24
Shōta Imanaga +14
Trent Thornton/Carson Kelly +13.5
Phil Maton -10
Edward Cabrera -12.5
Jameson Taillon -13
Dansby Swanson -17
Caleb Thielbar -18.5
Scoreboard Watching: Braves lose (one up on Cubs) to Brewers (six up). Phillies win (three back). Diamondbacks win (six back). Padres win (five back). Dodgers win (four up). So basically every game went the least favorable direction for the Cubs yesterday. That makes that close loss sting twice as hard. But still, really well positioned. With the Cubs having the tie-breaker on the closest Wild Card team, they have a four game cushion with 33 to play.
Up Next: Game two of the series sees David Peterson (7-7, 5.29) return to the rotation. David is 3-0 with a 2.06 ERA over his last seven outings (one of those in relief). I vibe with this team’s decision making so much of the time. But I am never, ever looking to replace a guy on that kind of a roll. That was a too cute move.
The Mariners will start 22-year-old lefty Kade Anderson in his major league debut. He is 10-1 with a 1.05 ERA over 18 starts for their Double-A affiliate. He has 135 strikeouts in 93.1 innings of work and an opponent batting average of .147. Just last year he was the Most Outstanding Player at the 2025 College World Series as his LSU Tigers won it all. He was then the third overall pick in the draft. For what it’s worth, the 2026 Cubs are not a Double-A lineup. Still, this looks like a tricky matchup against a guy you haven’t seen work with the big league team. The Cubs are 24-13 when facing a lefty starter.
COVERS INTEL:
