BOSTON, MA - JUNE 16: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This image was taken with a disposable camera) Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors smiles while looking at this phone before the game against the Boston Celtics during Game Six of the 2022 NBA Finals on June 16, 2022 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Jenny Fischer/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Hey there, Dub Nation. I’m here to let you know that it’s a big day for Golden State Of Mind. Because today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way for you to follow the Warriors, read about the Warriors, comment on the Warriors, and argue about the Warriors.
You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.
A year ago we made some big changes to our community, which included limiting our ads, and implementing the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and, yes, even fewer ads with the arrival of our app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.
You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below.
Why should I download the app?
The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community:
All your favorite teams’ (not just the Warriors!) posts in one dedicated feed
Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
New game thread section, with an experience that’s smoother and faster
Fewer ads
Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe
It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community, and any other communities that you’re a part of.
How do I download the app?
Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. The app is currently only available for US users.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MAY 6: Utah Jazz fans take photos before Game Three of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Golden State Warriors during the 2017 NBA Playoffs on May 6, 2017 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
It’s a big day for SLC Dunk. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Jazz.
You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.
A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.
You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below.
Why should I download the app?
The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community:
All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
New game thread section, with an experience that’s smoother and faster
Fewer ads
Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe
It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.
How do I download the app?
Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: A fan takes a picture on an iPhone during the game between the Washington Nationals and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park on June 16, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s a big day for Viva El Birdos. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Cardinals.
You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.
I’ve given this app a test run over the past few weeks and it’s really helped streamline my experience when interacting with the community making it seamless to get notifications when there’s been a reaction or a comment in response to something we’ve shared. It also makes it much easier for you to share which is one of the many things that makes the Viva El Birdos community the best neighborhood in baseball.
A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.
You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below.
Why should I download the app?
The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community:
All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
New game thread section, with an experience that’s smoother and faster
Fewer ads
Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe
It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.
How do I download the app?
Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.
ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 28: Ronald Acuña Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves looks at a tablet in the dugout during the game against the Kansas City Royals at Truist Park on March 28, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s a big day for Battery Power. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Braves.
You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.
A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.
You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below.
Why should I download the app?
The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community:
All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
New game thread section, with an experience that’s smoother and faster
Fewer ads
Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe
It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community. Whether you’re a Braves fan who loves all Atlanta sports (I salute you, brave sports fan) or you just so happen to be a Braves fan who roots for the Packers, Mavericks and Liverpool FC, we’ve got you covered.
Long story short, if you’ve enjoyed what we’ve been bringing you here not just on Battery Power but across the entire SB Nation network as a whole, then you’re going to love this. You’ll have all of your communities (or even just this one) easily accessible for you right there on your phone or tablet.
The blogs are right there, the comments (and a new focus on game threads) are there, The Feed is there and the conversation is there. I’ve enjoyed using it for the past few weeks before the official unveiling (and in fact, all of my Feed posts recently came from the app) and I’m sure that all of y’all are going to enjoy it if you give it a chance.
How do I download the app?
Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.
Jun 22, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher John Schreiber (46) reacts after pitching the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The reverse splits were attractive. Schreiber is not as effective against left-handed batters (opponents hit .326 against him) but he should help the Yankees down the stretch.
New York is responsible for the remaining amount on his contract. Schreiber is earning $3,715,000 this season.
The Royals will likely turn to young relievers in the bullpen. Guys such as Nate Pearson and Connor Thomas have gotten additional opportunities. Meanwhile, the Royals will see what they have in Carlos Duran — who was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline.
Caglianone swings 77.3 mph on average, which is faster than all but five qualified batters in the majors this year. That hasn’t changed since last year. What has changed is he’s now getting way more from his contact, squaring up the ball 31.2% of the time (compared to 25.9% last year). Maybe it’s obvious, but a fast swing and flush contact is why he’s posted a 54.6% hard-hit rate and 105.6 mph EV50 — each top 10 in the majors. This is the sort of in-game power potential we were promised in his (brief) tenure as a prospect, and it’s respected enough around the league to earn him an invite to the Home Run Derby this year.
Unfortunately, that’s still pretty much the extent of what Caglianone does well at the plate, at least consistently. Again, it’s awesome he’s doing anything well, given his struggles as a rookie, and he could have a very successful career without changing much. But the rest of his profile lags behind, limiting him to a merely top-100 batter in 2026.
One reason is all that ultra-hard contact generally isn’t going that far. Caglianone has done well to lower his groundball rate from 50.6% last year to 46.3% this year, but most of his extra exit velocity is still coming on the ground. Hitting balls on the ground while improving the contact of those groundballs is a fine tradeoff, but well-hit singles are still just singles.
David Lesky is ready for the remaining games, even if the recent hot streak doesn’t catapult them into playoff contention.
So here we are, with 24 games to go, and it does feel like even the tiniest hope is essentially gone, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not fun to watch them play better baseball down the stretch. If they want to start another nine-game winning streak, I certainly won’t turn that down. We’ll get to it at the bottom with what’s up next, but they’ve got a challenge this week at home with three teams fighting for the postseason. The Marlins are currently 3.5 out of the last Wild Card spot. The Blue Jays are currently 1.5 out of the last Wild Card spot. And the Diamondbacks are one-half game ahead of the Padres for the third Wild Card spot in the NL. So everyone has something to play for.
TORONTO, ON - MAY 27: Boston fans share some smartphone time together before the MLB game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers on May 27, 2017, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON. Canada. (Photo by Jeff Chevrier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
It’s a big day for Over the Monster. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Red Sox.
You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.
A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.
You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below.
Why should I download the app?
The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community:
All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
New game thread section, with an experience that’s smoother and faster
Fewer ads
Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe
It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.
How do I download the app?
Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: A fan takes a picture on an iPhone during the game between the Washington Nationals and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park on June 16, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s a big day for Lone Star Ball. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Rangers.
You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.
A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.
You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below.
Why should I download the app?
The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community:
All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
New game thread section, with an experience that’s smoother and faster
Fewer ads
Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe
It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.
How do I download the app?
Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 31: Bryce Elder #55 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Truist Park on August 31, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Monday was the rare game in which the Braves got beat by their own strategy. The Atlanta bullpen struggled in a 7-3 loss to the lowly Giants, ending a season series in which the Braves dropped 5 of 6 games to San Francisco. This also ended the Braves seven game winning streak. Losses certainly occur, but the hope is the bullpen, and especially Dylan Lee, return to form soon as a stretch of games vs the NL East is on the horizon.
Roderick Arias of the Somerset Patriots hits the ball during a Minor League baseball game at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, United States, on August 30, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
There’s not much time left in the minor league calendar, and the playoff races are heating up. While one affiliate has already punched their ticket, the other three are still searching for late runs to power their way there.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Record: 31-23 (68-60), 2.5 GB in the International League East after a 3-3 week against the Worcester Red Sox (Red Sox)
Run differential: +28 (+31)
Coming up: Home vs. Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies)
The RailRiders wrapped up a rough month of August with a contentious split, keeping them within an arm’s length of a playoff spot with three weeks to go. They got a bit of a rough deal with Worcester hosting three different rehab assignments this week, including Roman Anthony, but fared pretty well until a rough day on Sunday.
The offense has a lot of name-brand talent already, but they decided to add another former top prospect to their ranks with a mid-week signing of Jarred Kelenic for the playoff push, because why not? Additionally, Mitch Garver is currently in roster limbo after exercising an assignment clause, but the fact he hasn’t been added to the active roster by now likely closes the door on him getting recalled without an injury. Anthony Volpe (now getting reps at third base) and Marco Luciano carried the offense this week, combining for seven home runs on 18 hits.
The two prospects who’ve been here all season did not get to pitch here this week due to promotions to the big leagues, as Elmer Rodríguez is making a pair of spot starts until the schedule evens out while Brendan Beck was needed as the 27th man on Saturday. Alexander Cornielle won International League Pitcher of the Week with eight terrific shutout innings in the best start of his pro career, but the headline on the farm was the return of Kyle Carr, who got double duty on Tuesday and Sunday. He combined to allow three runs in three innings with Xavier Rivas as the piggyback. Let’s just say it’s not going well for the Ole Miss alum since his promotion.
The team needed two bullpen games due to the promotions, which we saw with Hayden Merda starting both games and tossing three solid innings combined. Eric Reyzelman and Eli Morgan both had terrific weeks as well, and with the rapidly thinning bullpen depth becoming an issue (one attempt to be resolved by claiming John Schreiber on waivers), both could be on the major league radar for cameos down the stretch.
Record: 30-27 (67-59), 3.5 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after a 3-3 week against the Akron RubberDucks (Guardians)
Run differential: +13 (+49)
Coming up: Away @ Erie SeaWolves (Tigers)
Somerset had a perfectly fine week, trading wins and losses without anything too good or bad happening. The problem was, in a heated playoff race, splitting sometimes isn’t good enough. They lost 2.5 games of ground this week, with scorching hot Reading going up 3.5 games. With 12 to go, these guys are going to have to play some of their best baseball.
It was a fairly pedestrian week for the offense. Jace Avina has had a really crummy month (.213/.314/.258) and will look to turn the page next week, while Roderick Arias and Josh Moylan continue to excel after summer promotions. I want to highlight Manuel Palencia here, who’s been one of the best hitters in the system for two months now. After entering July with an abhorrent .504 OPS, he’s slashed .351/.380/.596 with a 157 wRC+ in 121 plate appearances over the last two months. His stock is finally gaining some helium.
For the bruised and battered rotation, we saw a struggle of a start from Cade Smith (5.2 IP, 5 R), a 10-strikeout quality start from Dom Hamel, and a rehab appearance by Clarke Schmidt. The two big storylines were two guys who weren’t here last week. Bryce Cunningham made his Double-A debut on Tuesday and played double duty on Sunday, combining to allow nine runs in 11 innings with 13 strikeouts. We also saw the return of the struggling Chase Hampton, who missed three weeks on the temporarily inactive list. He tossed four solid innings with six strikeouts, hopefully a sign of things to come.
It was an uneven week for the bullpen, which technically counts Rory Fox’s piggyback effort behind Schmidt, where he tossed 5.1 solid innings. Trent Sellers, Michael Arias, Kevin Stevens, and Geoff Gilbert all excelled this week, while others struggled to put up zeroes.
Record: 34-26 (64-60), 3 GB in the South Atlantic League North after a 3-3 week against the Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)
Run differential: +46 (+55)
Coming up: Away @ Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals)
Hudson Valley extended their win streak to nine games on Tuesday, but struggled the rest of the week as their momentum fizzled out and their playoff hopes dwindled with it. Suddenly, they’re going to need to make up three games this week against Wilmington to get in. The division-leading Frederick Keys won the first half, which would invoke other tiebreakers, but the Renegades would lose out on a playoff spot in that scenario to Greensboro, so they’ll need to jump two teams here.
The split wasn’t because of any offensive ineptitude. David McCann homered twice, Jackson Lovich had four extra-base hits, Kyle West had three, and Hans Montero went 6-for-10 across three games. With only a week left in the regular season, you’re looking for guys to finish strong, and that’s certainly what Lovich is doing. After striking out nearly 40 percent of the time in his first few weeks at the level, he’s put up a 10-game stretch where he’s limited them while walking at a significantly higher rate. He was an early-season darling, but is putting together a good body of work in his first full season in the pros.
The bullpen was really ugly this week, so they get most of the blame instead of the starters, who actually pitched quite well. Allen Facundo tossed a quality start (6 IP, 2 R), Luis Serna struck out seven in 4.2 shutout innings, Sean Paul Liñan allowed three runs in five innings, and both Danny Flatt and Brandon Decker pitched brief, scoreless outings in emergency roles. The former had been sent down to the FCL two weeks ago, so that was his High-A debut.
Record: 39-18 (71-46), 9 GA in the Florida State League West after a 5-0 week against the Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins)
Run differential: +112 (+135)
Coming up: Home vs. Dunedin Blue Jays (Blue Jays)
These guys just keep raking. They outscored a good Jupiter team 41 to 15 in a five-game sweep, marking a 10th consecutive series without a defeat. They’re 8-0-2 in series since mid-June and clinched the Florida State League West Division with nine games to spare. It’s been a truly special few months for the Tarpons.
The offense is still really good. We’re going back to the running tally:
Yostin Pena continues to be a wrecking ball. He went 5-for-13 with a monster home run on Sunday, while also drawing six walks. That last part is important, as he had entred this week with a grand total of one walk in several weeks in Single-A.
Dax Kilby went 4-for-18 with a home run, double, and seven walks. No guy is more content to take ball four than Kilby, who also hit a new max exit velocity at 108.9.
Paul Gutierrez-Contreras II went 6-for-13 with a home run.
Bear Harrison, who was off to a horrible start to his pro career, went 4-for-12 with two doubles and five RBIs. Good week for him.
Tyce Armstrong went 8-for-16 with three homers and two doubles, winning FSL Player of the Week. This is a guy who hit nukes at Baylor and should rise quickly.
The rotation didn’t need to be spectacular this week, but they were pretty good. Wyatt Parliament seems to be getting load-managed down the stretch, only tossing 3.1 scoreless innings. Edinzo Marquez and Tyler Boudreau both tossed five one-run innings, but the latter was awarded a complete game due to rain shortening his start. Sabier Marte struck out nine but gave up five runs in his start, but the crown jewel of the week was J.T. Etheridge’s best start of his pro career, striking out 10 in six magnificent innings.
Pretty much everyone in the bullpen looked sharp, with the exception of Antonio Gomez’s second outing of the week. His stuff is still nasty, but he’s a work in progress. The guy of note here is Matthew Tippie, who throws a forkball and has been brilliant for a few months now. Since May 14, he’s pitched to a 0.86 ERA with a 20.9 K-BB% in 31.1 innings. There’s also Justin West, who struck out nine in a piggyback start and continues to be electric over the last two months.
At midnight, streaming service Crave dropped the first two episodes of the third season of The Rebuild: Inside the Montreal Canadiens, and fans won’t be disappointed with the first two episodes of the docuseries. Unsurprisingly, the first episode focuses on the start of the 2025-26 season and on the Lane Hutson contract, while the second episode covers the rocky road the Montreal Canadiens’ goaltenders traveled last year.
It’s great to see that the series didn’t shy away from what was the main story of the Habs season last year, although it gives the impression that both goaltenders had issues from the start of the year, which wasn’t really the case. There’s no mention of the fact that Jakub Dobes, who played six regular-season games in October, was flawless in that month.
Yes, his performance dipped in November, but that came after the team kept going back to Samuel Montembeault, time and time again, despite his struggles. It would have been shocking for Dobes’ confidence not to be rocked by that, to be fair. That’s my sole criticism of the first two episodes; it feels like a bit of revisionist history, going straight into the "neither goaltender can make a save" narrative.
There are a few interesting quotes in those first two hours, especially when GM Kent Hughes is discussing the Becancour native’s struggles:
It’s not about knowing whether Samuel Montembeault can climb Everest; we know he can. The question is whether he can climb it during an avalanche.
- Kent Hughes on Samuel Montembeault's struggles.
That’s quite an accurate way to put it, as the show mentions, playing goalie for the Canadiens is one of the hardest jobs in professional hockey. It even quotes the great Jacques Plante, who once asked how people would feel if every mistake they made at work was highlighted by a huge flashing red light over their head and 15,000 people screamed at them. It then cuts to Montembeault, who adds that it’s now 21,000 people at the Bell Centre.
While there’s no doubt that Montembeault would like to put that nightmarish season in the rearview mirror and never think about it or discuss it anymore, it’s highly unlikely that will be possible. If he had managed to right the ship, it wouldn’t be an issue, but the start of the new season, and even training camp, will still be about seeing if he can climb Everest during an avalanche, because he didn’t do it last season.
I was surprised to see the docuseries give a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at Dobes’ burst of emotion after a November 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils. As you’ll no doubt recall, the netminder failed to fight back the tears in his postgame media availability:
It happened last year; it happens this year, losing to those guys in OT. Just disappointed in myself; that’s pretty much it.
In an interview that must have been done a while after the event, Dobes recalls that the day after, a lot of the guys, including Arber Xhekaj, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, would start fake crying after he said something; clearly that was all in good fun to help him move past the situation. But before they could tease him, they apparently told him that Caufield had cried in the dressing room too when he was sent down to Laval, and that Slafkovsky had done it in an interview a couple of years ago. The camaraderie is alive and well in Montreal.
The second episode also shows the Canadiens' first game against the Washington Capitals after Alex Ovechkin and co. eliminated them in the spring of 2025. The Habs had to wait until November 20 for an opportunity for revenge, and they weren’t successful. In case you forgot, Washington won 8-4. This season, Montreal won’t have to wait that long to avenge their elimination this year, as the Stanley Cup champions Carolina Hurricanes will be the first visitors at the Bell Centre on October 6, the third game of the season. Will the Habs suffer the same fate? Time will tell.
At the end of the second episode, much is made of a Montembeault bounce-back performance against the Vegas Golden Knights. Still, the series isn't a Hollywood blockbuster with a happy ending, and the preview of episode three shows the netminder being sent down to Laval and Jacob Fowler being called back up. It will be interesting to see just how deep the series goes into the conditioning stint and whether they spoke to Montembeault himself about it.
Oh, man, I was really wanting this article to be a celebration of PCA, the MVP(?) and a win of the series and start another streak of series wins.
But, Shota. Craig Counsell said, “We need Shota. We need Shota. We need him to have good starts.” That’s good to say, but there needs to be a replacement ready to go for the playoffs — and maybe before to make sure they even make the playoffs. The comfortable Wild Card lead is no longer comfortable, especially with the Brewers the focus over the next 10 games.
Counsell is not wrong — Imanaga has not had a bad season. He’s had a season full of CSPSHRs*, but now they are turning into two- and three-run home runs. “Needing him to have good starts” would be a drastic improvement from recent results, and a lot to hope for.
Yeah, that took a bit of the air out of the PCA bubble, but he can handle all the self-promotion with that magic bat of his. There’s been 40-40 talk for a few weeks now, and it was natural to assume that getting the homers are the hardest part. After Sunday, he’s two homers away. You can’t tell him to walk or turn every hit (inside the park) into a single just to steal eight more bases, especially with the playoffs are on the line. But I’m sure there will be opportunities for him to stack a couple of SBs here and there, so we’ll see.
You know all of PCA’s stats for each game, but for posterity, in the two games, PCA went 6-for-11 with six runs scored, five home runs and eight RBI. The Cubs need to keep him in bubble wrap between games.
For the other hitters this weekend — most of the action was on Saturday (obviously) but these two had a good pair of games. Alex Bregman went 4-for-9 with a run scored, two doubles, a home run and three RBI. Nico Hoerner quietly went 3-for-8 with two RBI.
Saturday saw Carson Kelly go off — 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a home run and 4 RBI. Tyrone Taylor keeps impressing, going 4-for-5 with a double and three runs scored. Seiya Suzuki went 3-for-5 with a walk, three runs scored, a home run and two RBI. And Pedro Ramirez went 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored.
Sunday had Ian Happ adding a 2-for-3 day with a walk and two runs scored.
It’s a good thing that the Cubs scored so many runs Saturday. Kevin Gausman allowed five runs over five innings, with five hits and two walks, but two of those hits were home runs. He did strike out seven. Hope it was just a little blip.
In the two games, the bullpen was (cautiously) good after the meltdown Friday. Over eight IP, the bullpen allowed one run (on Trent Thornton’s HR allowed), four total hits, three walks and six strikeouts.
Complimentary Starting Pitcher Solo Home Run*
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Combo PCA-Mania — Sammy Sosa’s Magic Prediction — Cubs and MLB History — OH! and MVP Race:
Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times): The anatomy of Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong’s potential MVP season. “While working with assistant hitting coach John Mallee at Citi Field, Crow-Armstrong walked out of the cage and essentially said, “I found something that I’m going to be able to repeat for a long time.” He has.“
Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Even Cubs legends are in awe of Pete Crow-Armstrong’s MVP campaign. “Jake Arrieta said, “For his third at-bat, his fourth at-bat, his fifth at-bat, we were glued to the actual gameplay live. I didn’t want to just watch it on TV. I wanted to see it happen live. We’re all standing there and you’re kind of shaking your head.”“
Pete Crow-Armstrong joins Mookie Betts (2018) as the only players in MLB history to accomplish these feats in one season: • Hitting a lead-off home run • Hitting a walk-off home run • Hitting for the cycle • Hitting 3 home runs in one game pic.twitter.com/kHPkXRjqzg
Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs’ key relievers might be regressing to mean at worst time. “After David Peterson at least gave the Cubs a chance to win, Trent Thornton all but removed it, allowing five runs in the sixth inning of a 10-8 loss to the Reds.”
Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$})): Sammy Sosa basking in rebuilt relationship with Cubs. “Of his relationship with the team he defined for 13 seasons, Sosa said he and the Cubs have put their old differences to the side.”
Jordan Bastian and Adam McCalvy (MLB.com): Cubs’ divisional fate rests on the results of their next 10 days. “With seven games between the Cubs and Brewers over the next 10 days, this is Chicago’s chance to try to swing the momentum in this year’s division race before it is too late.”
Altered Five Blues Band (originally known as Altered Five) is an American five-piece blues band. Formed in 2002 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, they have released six albums since 2008. Altered Five smokes, smolders and burns like a swig of good whiskey. The hip Milwaukee quintet is known for its strong brew of tough, original blues and hard-hitting live shows. Blues Blast raves that barrel-chested front man Jeff Taylor possesses a “smooth, warm-toned voice as monumental and undeniable as Howlin’ Wolf with the finish and flourish of B.B. King.” Downbeat declares stealth guitarist Jeff Schroedl “reaches the high bar of mixed invention and fluidity.” Fueled by a rhythm section laying down the deepest grooves this side of the MGs, the award-winning group has remained at the forefront of contemporary blues for more than two decades, performing in 13 countries around the world.
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Jonah Tong of the Syracuse Mets delivers a pitch during a MiLB baseball game at Coca-Cola Park in the United States on June 26, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
It’s too bad that the roster construction of the Mets works out that MJ Melendez is left high-and-dry. He wasn’t good in the limited at-bats he got earlier this season, but he wasn’t particularly bad, either. Likewise, his performance isn’t so exceptionally good in Triple-A that David Stearns needs to figure out how to get Melendez back to the majors, but he’s having a nice little run. The veteran outfielder seems like a generally cool dude and apologized to fans for not being good enough when he was sent back down to Syracuse, which makes the fact that he hasn’t really found his footing more annoying.
If nothing else, I wouldn’t be against bringing Melendez back as minor league depth next season.
Jonah Tong
Week: 1 G (1 GS), 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K (Triple-A)
In Game One of a double-header against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Jonah Tong set batter after batter after batter down at the plate, and before we knew it, it was the seventh inning and Tong had yet to allow a hit. I’m not a fan of treating the two the same, but 7 innings is a regulation game in minor league double-headers, just like 9 innings is regulation under normal circumstances, and Tong was three outs away from throwing a no-hitter. The first batter he faced, right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr., flew out to left field. The second batter he faced, third baseman Otto Kemp, struck out on three straight fastballs down-and-away. With one out to go, centerfielder Kameron Misner laced a cutter down and in into right field for a hit. With the no-hit bid over, Tong struck out the next batter, Carter Kieboom, on four pitches and had to settle for a one-hit shutout.
It was obviously a great game for Tong, and overall, August has been a strong month for him. Coming into August, batters were hitting .238/.349/.447 against Tong, but in August, they hit .170/.271/.436 against him. A big reason for that was his fastball and cutter both being more effective than they have been all season, especially his cutter; batters hit .125/.239/.325 against his fastball and .158/.238/.158 against his cutter in August as opposed to .213/.353/.386 and .300/.386/.540 entering the month.
I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but since none of the underlying metrics for either pitch, such as velocity or spin rate or movement, are appreciably different, I think the recent success is more a case of a .148 BABIP than Tong finally compensating for his velocity/IVB dip stemming from his arm angle change or his change from a traditional slider grip to a traditional cutter grip, but it would be great if I was wrong.
With September here, the right-hander having a strong month or two, and the Mets not exactly having a fifth starter, it is all but guaranteed that Tong gets called back up the Queens and appears in a few games. I’m not sure how well he will perform- honestly, I do have a bit of trepidation, since International League hitters have hit him hard- but here’s hoping he performs well enough to avoid the Mets analyzing the small sample of his MLB performance and switching him to sidearm while having him scrap his changeup for a gyroball.
The Detroit Tigers dropped the series opener against the Minnesota Twins, 11-1, at Target Field on Monday night in a game that everyone wants to quickly forget. Jackson Jobe managed to escape trouble through the early innings, but it finally caught up with him in the fifth, when a three-run dinger opened the gates for the eventual rout.
Taking the mound in Game 2 for the Olde English D is right-hander Troy Melton, who has given up as many earned runs over his last two outings as he had in his 10 starts prior. After a stretch of absolute excellence, the 25-year-old has posted a 4.26 ERA and 4.98 FIP over 12 2/3 innings, allowing 14 hits (two home runs) and three walks while striking out seven and hitting a batter.
Melton’s only appearance this summer against the Twins back on June 9 in Detroit was his worst game of the season, surrendering eight hits — four of them solo homers, representing all of the runs he gave up — but no walks while striking out five over five frames. He still managed to earn his third win as the Tigers ultimately prevailed, 10-4.
For Minnesota, left-hander Connor Prielipp will toe the rubber for the 20th time of his rookie campaign. The 25-year-old has had a brutal August, putting up an ugly 7.76 ERA but a less-offensive 4.73 FIP over five games stretching across 26 2/3 innings, allowing 31 hits (five home runs) and 13 walks while striking out 30 batters. He earned a pair of losses while his team was defeated in all five starts.
Here is a look at how the two match up for Tuesday night’s American League Central battle.
Detroit Tigers (63-74) vs. Minnesota Twins (66-72)
Time (ET): 7:40 p.m. Place: Target Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota SB Nation Site:Twinkie Town Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 138: RHP Troy Melton (7-3, 1.86 ERA) vs. LHP Connor Prielipp (3-7, 5.55 ERA)
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 29: Luis Arraez #4 of the Philadelphia Phillies in action against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 29, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On Sunday afternoon in Springfield, Missouri. The St. Louis Cardinals’ top hitting prospect, Rainiel Rodriguez, launched his 24th Home Run of the season, split between High-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield. The Crack of Rodriguez’s bat echoes whispers of top prospects who came before, but only names we revere through recent Cardinals minor league history. Rainiel is compiling stats during his age-19 season at a level whose average age is 5 years older than his.
What he’s doing currently, only 1 other minor leaguer has done in the last 20 years. At age 19 or younger, posting an OPS above .950 at the Double-A level: Mike Trout. While I don’t project Rodriguez to be quite the same 5-tool megastar that Trout became, what he’s doing with the bat is undeniable and impossible to ignore. So far, in 351 plate appearances at Double-A, Rodriguez is slashing .316/.393/.572 -> .966 OPS with a .257 ISO, .419 wOBA, and a 143 wRC+. It is not hyperbolic to say that the young Cardinals backstop is producing video game-like numbers.
Other notable recent Cardinals farmhands age 20 or younger at Double-A to produce an above .800 OPS and at least a 100 wRC+ include Colby Rasmus, Oscar Taveras, Dylan Carlson, and Jordan Walker. That’s an exclusive list of names in recent Cardinals prospect lore. Interestingly enough, they’re all outfielders, except Rodriguez, which makes what he’s doing from an offensive perspective as a primary catcher all the more impressive.
I reached out to a couple of good friends who cover Cardinals prospects more deeply than pretty much anyone out there. From our friend Kyle Reis of thecardinalnation.com on what makes Rainiel Rodriguez special:
“A lot of it is mechanical, in my opinion. He has strength and balance throughout his swing that is unique and innate in a way that cant be taught. He’s capable of adjusting his swing without adjusting his body and his foundation, and thats easier said than done. From there he has the bat speed and direction with his hands to do all that he needs to do to maintain success.
There’s a maturity to the person that he is, as well as, how he goes about the work that he puts in. He’s incredibly driven and dedicated, and he learns and applies that at an instantaneous thus rare level.
I’m not a fan of Joe Rogan or his podcast. I’m about as neutral on it as a person can be. But a lot of times i think about something he said about Elon Musk. Im no fan of Musk but i do appreicate his engineering brilliance. Rogan said that you can tell that Musk is both completely engaged when you talk to him, but that it’s also clear that his brain is thinking about many other important and heavy topics at the same time. That’s how Rainiel’s mind works but about baseball.“
Kyle, as we know him, is one of the most unique observers of talent. With the connections he possesses and has created throughout the industry, and his long history of evaluating prospects, he jokingly wrote on X recently that Rainiel is so good that it’s almost boring to him because of just how good he is and how consistently he can tap into his talent.
From more of a scout perspective to one who is more immersed in baseball from a data analysis standpoint, my good friend Kareem Haq of cardinalsprospects.com and host of “Birds on the Farm” Podcast had this to say about the emerging Redbird slugger:
“What’s so special about Rainiel is his ability to consistently hit the ball in the air. Last year, we mostly saw him find success pulling the ball, but he’s now showing his prodigious power to all fields. We’ve also seen major gains in his bat-to-ball ability recently, and he even went through a stretch of 42 consecutive plate appearances without striking out.”
For Context, this season across two minor league levels, Rodriguez has a 40.7 FB%. Double-A hitters are generally in the 34-36% range on average. How does that translate to the MLB level? MLB hitters average between 34-38%. Rodriguez has a genuine knack for making high-quality contact and being able to also lift and drive the ball with that quality of contact. Famously, Jordan Walker, when he first arrived in the big leagues, would show great quality of contact with high EV’s but could not effectively lift the ball off the ground, thus limiting his ability to do damage. One of the primary reasons we were able to witness his breakout this season was a decrease in GB%. 2025 – 47.9% -> 2026 -41.2%. Rodriguez will be able to step into a big-league batter’s box, already possessing that skill.
I understand that sometimes part of my responsibility on this site is to temper expectations and try to speak in terms that are less hyperbolic and more realistic. I see no reason for every single Cardinals fan not to dream BIG about what Rainiel Rodriguez could accomplish in the near future. Baseball isn’t supposed to be as easy as he can make it look, and perhaps there will be growing pains and adjustments needed as he continues to ascend, but so far in his young career, his roadblock moments have appeared to be more “oppositional suggestions” than real hindrances in his ascension towards the show. “Hulk,” as his teammates affectionately have nicknamed him, should be showing off his immense power in St. Louis in the near future as he stomps his way around the bags at Busch.
