CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 20: Grant Holmes #66 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Thursday, August 20, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Lawrence Brown/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Alternatively, for the alliteratively-minded: Braves snap skid and salvage series as Holmes spins six scoreless in the South Side.
Before first pitch, all things are possible. No matter our current gripes we have with the team or their performance, the time leading up to the commencement of the baseball contest fills us with a cautious hope. It’s a new day with a sparkling new chance for the Atlanta Braves to win.
So it was extra deflating when, upon replay review, Ronald Acuña Jr. did not reach first base in time for an infield single after all, leading to the first out of the ballgame. This was followed by quick outs by Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson for yet another scoreless first frame. Bummer (not Aaron). But worry not, folks – Braves pitching and the bottom of the batting order would be the heroes in today’s 2-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Atlanta drew first blood this afternoon courtesy of the wheels of Mauricio Dubón and the bat of Austin Riley. Dubón led off the top of the third with a single off of Anthony Kay. Riley hit a rocket of a double to left, and Dubie’s speed on an audacious send by third base coach Tommy Watkins helped the Braves take a 1-0 lead.
Dubón’s nice 3-for-4 afternoon continued with a single (plus a fielding error by left fielder Sam Antonacci that allowed him to reach second) to lead off the fifth. However, this time he’d be left stranded.
We must tip our collective caps to Grant Holmes. The pressure cooker of the skid, an offense recently incapable of helping their starter out of small deficits, and the clamor for him to be moved to the bullpen could’ve gotten to our curly-haired king. He bounced back in a major way by holding the White Sox hitless through six innings before allowing a single in the seventh. Up to that point, the only baserunners for the White Sox came on the three walks scattered in the second, sixth, and seventh.
The palpitations were certainly high in that sixth inning from Holmes: Munetaka Murakami had grounded out twice before, but came to the plate with Drew Romo aboard. A wild pitch would move Romo up a base, putting the tying run in scoring position. But Grant buckled down with the afternoon’s best slider to get Murakami swinging. No-hitter intact!
The White Sox inadvisedly left Anthony Kay in for the top of the seventh, which they immediately regretted when Michael Harris II doubled to right on the second pitch he saw. Former Met Huascar Brazobán came in and got Dubón to fly out, allowing Harris to get to third. Austin RBI-ley knocked Harris in with a single up the middle to make it 2-0. Sean Murphy followed it up with a 103.2 mph single of his own. But the rally petered out after Brazobán and new reliever Hagen Smith got Ronald and Baldwin to strike out swinging, respectively.
The Braves had both Brent Suter and Didier Fuentes start to throw during the sixth, but Holmes jogged out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh. I fully rewrote earlier parts of this recap because I’d assumed Grant was going to go out on a high note. But with 83 pitches, a lead, and a no-hitter going, it seemed Weiss and company were going to let it ride on a batter-per-batter basis. Unfortunately, Miguel Vargas worked a leadoff walk before Andrew Benintendi ended the no-hitter and Holmes’ afternoon with a single to left.
Didier Fuentes came in tasked with preserving the lead and Holmes’ final line and did so in phenomenal fashion: back-to-back-to-back strikeouts of the non-brothers Montgomery (Braden and Colson) and Chase Meidroth. The way Sean Murphy calls pitches for Fuentes makes me feel things.
Hagen Smith and Dylan Lee pitched a very quiet eighth frame for both sides. Trevor Richards got Harris to fly out to start the top of the ninth. Dubón got his third hit of the day with a single to right before Riley struck out. Two wild pitches during Murph’s at-bat would get Mauricio on third base, but Sean grounded out to send us to the bottom of the ninth with a 2-0 lead for Raisel Iglesias.
A well-rested Iggy barely gave us time to worry: a groundout for Murakami, strikeout of Vargas, and strikeout of Benintendi on twelve pitches put the Braves back in the win column and denied the White Sox a delayed sweep.
Instead of a happy flight, the Braves will board a happy bus to Milwaukee to face the Brew Crew. The Pokemon card collectors Chris Sale and Jacob Misiorowski will face off in tomorrow afternoon’s series opener starting at 4:10 pm ET.
The Cincinnati Reds are likely to miss the MLB Playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons. The St. Louis Cardinals are trying to make a late push to earn the final wild card spot in the National League after missing the playoffs the last three years. The two teams played a rare five-game series this week with tons of drama. On Monday, Red outfielder Dane Myers hit the game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give the Reds an improbable win. On Thursday, his crucial error allowed the Cardinals to steal a victory they had no business getting.
The Cardinals trailed the Reds 5-3 going into the ninth inning on Thursday. St. Louis promptly exploded for six runs in the top of the ninth to take the lead, but game should have ended before they ever had a chance to do that. Myers had the final out of the game in his glove, but a sunny day and some confusion in the outfield produced a wild error that allowed St. Louis to take the lead. Watch the play here:
Calling off your teammate only to drop the ball … yikes. Myers simply has to make that play.
Baseball is the cruelest sport. You’re the hero one day, and the goat the next. Myers learned this lesson the hard way.
The Reds came back and scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough. The Cardinals won, 10-9, to win their fifth straight series. The bats came alive for St. Louis late, and it sure helps when the opposite gives you another out.
The Reds wasted a grand slam from Matt McLain in the loss. There’s a lot of painful things that can happen on a baseball field. Dropping the final out and then losing the game because of it might be as bad as it gets. This feels like the sort of thing that should only happen to the Mets, but there are plenty of other bad baseball teams out there. The Reds are one of them.
The Buffalo Sabres could go a number of different ways as the NHL is in the midst of trade season following the NHL Draft and the opening of free agency on July 1. With the departure of winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram, GM Jarmo Kekalainen is expected to seek out offensive reinforcements to make up for the 44 goals lost by their departures.
We are continuing to look at potential options for the Sabres, now that veteran Patrick Kane has returned with Chicago. Some of the possibilities are not going to match Tuch’s stats, but any additions could provide some relief to the pressure that youngsters Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich, or Noah Ostlund will be under to make up the deficit.
Kekalainen ideally is looking for someone who could make up as much of the 60-to-70 point production that he lost with Tuch, or someone who can fill the leadership gap and/or add some snarl and sandpaper to the middle-six, with the trade of Jordan Greenway to Chicago.
Smith is a five-time 20 goal scorer who netted 16 goals with the Vegas Golden Knights last season. The 35-year-old was a spot player for Vegas during their run to the Cup Final, playing only seven of their 22 post-season contests, and is not the scorer he was earlier in his career, but could still play a middle-six role on the right side, while others on the Sabres (Jack Quinn) could move up into the top six.
This late in August, with less than a month before training camp, it is possible that the veteran winger would be open to a PTO, but with possibly a couple teams looking to add a Stanley Cup winner to their roster, a league-minimum deal may be necessary.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 18: Luis Lara #18 of the Milwaukee Brewers is congratulated after hitting his first major league home run in the eighth inning against the Seattle Mariners at American Family Field on August 18, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
In this week’s Reacts survey, we asked fans if they think the Brewers can finish the season with the best record in baseball and/or set another franchise record for wins in a season. The results were clear, but there were still some dissenting votes:
With 110 votes, 66% voted yes to both, followed by 18% voting for neither, 11% saying franchise record only, and 5% saying best record only. Given that the Brewers currently own the best record in baseball and are on pace for roughly 99-100 wins, it probably isn’t much of a surprise that most fans said all or nothing to this question.
If the Brewers are able to hit 98 wins, they’ll break the franchise record of 97 victories (set last season), and they’ll also easily be in the running for best record in the league. Hitting the 100-win mark seems like the “safe” number for best record in baseball with roughly 35 games to go for every team.
What do you think? Can the Brewers hit 100 wins? Have something else you want to say? Keep the conversation going in the comments, and be sure to check out FanDuel Sportsbook for all your betting needs.
Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.
Denver Nuggets Peyton Watson trade has surfaced rumors of Nikola Jokić being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
With the Denver Nuggets electing to trade Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers to avoid the luxury tax, it raises a fascinating question that could shape the future of the NBA:
Could the Los Angeles Lakers take advantage of this Nuggets turmoil to bring Nikola Jokić to Hollywood to pair with Luka Dončić?
The Nuggets and Jokić have been in contract limbo. Jokić has put off signing an extension and has hinted at making a decision about his future with the team next summer.
Jokić will be 31 this season and has a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28, the final season on his five-year, $276.1 million extension that he signed after he helped propel the Nuggets to their first NBA title in 2023.
Rumors have began to surface of Nikola Jokić joining forces alongside Luka Dončić. ANDREJ CUKIC/EPA/Shutterstock
According to Lakers insider Anthony F. Irwin, the team is going to be “dead-set” on acquiring Jokić after their ownership situation is figured out.
With the Lakers ready to give Dončić the keys to the franchise and continue building around him, acquiring Jokić should be a no-brainer for them.
Dončić and Jokić are close friends and have enjoyed playing beside one another.
The two teamed up against the rest of the NBA during the All-Star Game in February on the team led by Dončić.
The success the Nuggets had in the playoffs three years ago now seems like a distant memory. They’ve won a combined two playoff series over the past three seasons, and were eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round last season.
Luka Dončić during an NBA game with the Los Angeles Lakers. Corey Sipkin for NY Post
Jokić, who averaged a triple-double last season with 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game, is a three-time MVP with years remaining in his prime.
ARLINGTON, TX - AUGUST 19: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers looks on in the first inning during the game between the Washington Nationals and the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Courtney Kramer/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Texas Rangers lineup for August 20, 2026 against the Washington Nationals: starting pitchers are Jacob deGrom for the Rangers and Andrew Alvarez for the Nationals.
It is the series finale, and the Rangers will be trying to clinch the series with a win. Jacob deGrom, who left his start a week ago today with triceps tightness, is on the mound for Texas. The Rangers are using the same lineup they used Tuesday, when they scored runs, and not the lineup from Wednesday, when they did not score runs.
The lineup:
Langford — DH
Seager — SS
Burger — 1B
Nimmo — RF
Duran — LF
Foscue — 2B
Jansen — C
Freeman — 3B
Carter — CF
7:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are -175 favorites.
Former longtime Lakers executive Tim Harris has found a landing spot — at his alma mater.
The UCLA alumnus is consulting for Chancellor Julio Frenk, a role that allows the veteran marketing and business operations specialist to share his expertise on a volunteer basis, the California Post has learned.
Tim Harris, who was with the Lakers for 35 years, will work as a consultant for UCLA — his alma mater. Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag
Reached by phone, Harris confirmed to The Post that he was doing some consulting work for the university but referred all questions to the chancellor’s office.
One person familiar with the situation told The Post that Harris would examine revenue streams involving various aspects of campus operations, including athletics.
“We are so lucky to have alums like Tim who love UCLA and want to lend their time and talent to strengthen the Bruin community,” a campus source familiar with the arrangement told The Post. “As a former UCLA student-athlete himself, we’re incredibly fortunate to have Tim offer his deep expertise pro bono to elevate our programs. It’s a real win for Bruins.”
The move represents a homecoming for Harris, a onetime goalkeeper for UCLA, the U.S. National Team and the Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League. The Lazers owner was Jerry Buss, who held the same role with the Lakers and later served as Harris’ boss for many years.
Among his many duties for the Lakers, Harris was known as the essential source for landing celebrities the best seats inside Crypto.com Arena. Actor Andy Garcia once described Harris to the Los Angeles Times as “a good person to know.”
Harris departed the Lakers after last season, ending a 35-year career with the organization during which he was instrumental in landing a $3 billion, 20-year contract with Charter Communications to create Spectrum SportsNet for the Lakers in 2011.
Harris (right) reportedly received $24 million when the Lakers were sold to Mark Walter in 2025. Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag
When the team was sold to Mark Walter in 2025, Harris reportedly received $24 million. He was replaced earlier this year by Lon Rosen as the Lakers president of business operations.
Now he’s headed back to a familiar place that might seem strange given all the changes in the college landscape.
UCLA faces massive budget constraints across campus and in athletics, with the Bruins athletic department having run in the red for seven consecutive fiscal years. That will provide Harris, who turns 65 in December, a chance to help examine revenue streams and give recommendations.
Harris has already been an active presence on campus in recent years, teaching “Lakers 101” to students in UCLA’s Sports and Leadership Program in the Anderson School of Management.
Before even talking to Rochester Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy, I could feel his presence. When I got to Rochester, two things became very clear to me. First was that I needed to try a “Garbage Plate”, Rochester’s signature dish. Second was that Matt LeCroy was a beloved presence as the Red Wings skipper.
When Paul Toboni took over as Washington Nationals President of Baseball Operations, he made sweeping changes, particularly in the Minor Leagues. However, there is one face that remains unchanged, and that was LeCroy. The charismatic 50 year old with a comforting southern drawl returned for his 18th year in the organization and 5th as Triple-A manager.
When you sit down with LeCroy, you quickly figure out that he is the perfect minor league manager. His dynamic personality and fatherly wisdom makes him capable of uniting a Triple-A clubhouse where players are constantly coming and going. However, he is also very open to new ideas and has no ego. As Seaver King put it, Lecroy is “the ultimate player coach”.
Being a player first manager is something that LeCroy takes great pride in. At the Triple-A level, it can be tough to manage players. In many ways Triple-A is the intersection of dreams and disappointment. There are young prospects like Seaver King who are on their last stop before reaching their big league dream. Meanwhile, there are also veterans like Riley Adams who are looking to re-establish themselves and get back to the show.
LeCroy has found a way to gain not only respect, but love from both of those players who have such different backgrounds. Riley Adams, who was the Nats back up catcher the past few years said that LeCroy, “Has a lot of great feel and knows how to keep things fun. Sometimes baseball can get a little monotonous but he always keeps things fresh”.
For LeCroy, managing every player is different, as they are each their own person. However, he does tend to manage young players differently than veterans. For younger players, he said he likes to try and keep them even keeled while teaching them to trust the process. Meanwhile, for veterans he tries to challenge them and work on things that held them back at the big league level.
The cases of Adams and King are two great examples of that. Riley Adams is a power hitting catcher whose contact skills and plate discipline have let him down. This year in AAA, his chase rate is only 24%, down from 31% in the big leagues last year. Even when he was in AAA in 2024, that chase rate was 27%. With the help of the new front office, LeCroy has helped Adams stay engaged and make tangible improvements that could make him better the next time he gets a shot in the big leagues.
With Seaver King, he plays the game at 100 MPH at all times. LeCroy admires the “old timey” nature of King’s game. However, he is probably one of those players that needs to stay a bit more even keeled. The ability to slow one player down while also being able to push others is a great trait that LeCroy possesses.
Being able to truly manage players is one of the keys to being a great Triple-A manager. When LeCroy managed at the lower levels, a big part of his job was actually teaching young players how to play the game the right way. However, things are different in AAA, where players are knocking on the door of the big leagues. As he put it, “Here in Triple-A, these are grown men fighting to get to the highest level. I try to be honest and fair. I do not have many rules but there is an expectation that I want you to play a certain way”.
The shadow of the Major Leagues hangs over the Triple-A level at all times. Players are coming and going all the time and reaching the top of the baseball world is constantly on their minds. LeCroy said the biggest challenge of managing at this level is “dealing with mindsets and keeping people where their feet are”. Through many years of experience, Matt LeCroy has found a way to do that.
For LeCroy, the most rewarding part of his job is telling people they are going to the big leagues. In fact, just a couple days after I left, he made one of his famed call-up videos, telling Erik Tolman he was headed to the show. He met with the 27 year old, who has had to battle through many injuries over the years and at first he asked him if he wanted to pitch in winter ball. Eventually he let his down the mask, and told Tolman he was headed to the MLB.
He told me that his favorite call-up was when he told Trey Lipscomb he was going to the show a couple of years ago. Throughout our interview, LeCroy spoke glowingly about Lipscomb who has had a huge bounce-back year, hitting 25 home runs for the Red Wings. In Lipscomb’s call-up, he had the whole clubhouse together and told Trey he would have his own room on their trip. However, the reason for that was because he was going to be a big leaguer. The whole room erupted and it was a wonderful moment to watch.
Trey Lipscomb is a big leaguer … just like we drew it up. 🥲
— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) March 31, 2024
As this young core of Nationals players rose through the minors, they all crossed paths with LeCroy. He managed the likes of James Wood, CJ Abrams, Cade Cavalli, Daylen Lile and Dylan Crews among others. Having managed those players, he admitted that he was not overly surprised to see the offense humming.
The big league level is not the only place where we are seeing a lot of offense though. Rochester has also been much improved offensively, and overall. The Red Wings have the best record in the International League under LeCroy this season at 73-47. LeCroy also got his 1,000th career managerial win this season.
1,000 WINS FOR SKIP! 🏆 🔥
Matt LeCroy has officially reached 1,000 career wins as a manager!
A milestone built on years of leadership, passion and plenty of victories along the way.👏 pic.twitter.com/lD3XeoDH7a
All the talent coming through Rochester has helped but another factor is the growing coaching staff. The Nats have more coaches at the minor league level this year, with two hitting coaches, two pitching coaches, multiple trainers and strength coaches, as well as a quality control coach. LeCroy called this a “really big help” and said it lets players get more individualized training. He also said he is in much more consistent contact with the big league staff this season, talking to bench coach Michael Johns at least once a week.
The combination of this new staff and the man management skills of LeCroy have the Red Wings humming. When I saw the Red Wings this weekend, I saw a group firing on all cylinders with great pitching and tremendous power on display from Seaver King and Trey Lipscomb. At a level where it is hard to get players to buy in, Matt LeCroy has mastered the art of managing at Triple-A. Is that what he wants to do forever or does the charming veteran want to achieve his own big league dream one day?
Aug 20, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Daz Cameron (23) celebrates after hitting a home run against the Tampa Bay Rays in the fifth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Blue Jays 5 Rays 1
What a nice game. It never seemed to be in doubt, even though we didn’t really blow the Rays out.
Shane Bieber was terrific. Likely the best we’ve seen him in a Blue Jays uniform.
He went seven innings, allowing just four hits, no walks with seven strikeouts, with just the one earned. He threw 101 pitches, getting to 100 for the first time as a Jay. Really no complaints about his game at all.
Spencer Miles pitched the eighth, a clean inning. Louis Varland got the ninth, allowed a hit and a walk, just to make sure we kept watching.
On offense? Well, we had three home runs. Kazuma Okamoto (number 26 on the season), Nathan Lukes (number 7) and Daz Cameron (crushed, 105.8 mph and 442 feet). Cameron had two hits, as did George Springer and Okamoto. Myles Straw had the only 0 for, an 0 for four with two strikeouts.
A lot was made of the 1 for 11 in RISP, but the homers really helped out.
There was bad news, Andrés Giménez came out of the game with “right hamstring tightness’. Hamstring tightness sponsored this series with him, Bateman and Josh Smith (tho he stayed in yesterday’s game, but didn’t play today). I hope he isn’t out long, his glove has been amazing and he seems to be hitting the ball well lately.
It was good to see Clement back in the lineup after missing yesterday being ‘under the weather’. He might be even more important if Giménez has to be out of the lineup.
They say they will wait until tomorrow on Giménez, hoping he’s better.
Nathan Lukes made a super catch in right at the wall, with a runner on and no outs in the seventh. Without that catch, I doubt Bieber would have finished seven.
Jays of the Day: Bieber (0.27 WPA), Cameron (0.14) and Okamoto (0.10).
Other Award: Straw (-0.12).
Tomorrow it is the Yankees. TBA vs. TBA. They say Spencer Arrighetti will either start or be the bulk guy tomorrow. Which means we’ll get more roster moves.
Mets first baseman Mark Vientos has been scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Binghamton on Friday, Aug. 21, when the Binghamton Rumble Ponies take on the Altoona Curve at 7:00 p.m.
Vientos has been sidelined since fracturing his right hand against the Kansas City Royals on July 9th, hit by a pitch thrown by righty starter Michael Wacha.
The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, and the organization’s developmental model has begun to yield results, with 2023 first rounder Zach Benson making an impact in the playoffs, and 2024 top pick Konsta Helenius appearing as one of the AHL’s top prospects the last two seasons.
Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. These players are all 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals, and have played less than 82 NHL games.
20. Gavin McCarthy – Defense (Boston University – NCAA)
McCarthy was the Sabres third-round pick at the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville. The Western New York native is well known to former GM Kevyn Adams and the club’s scouting staff because he played three seasons with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres.
Who had the best and worst offseason in the Atlantic Division?
The 6’2”, 185 lb. blueliner scored 27 points (8 goals, 19 assists) and 88 penalty minutes with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL in his draft year, and moved on to play with 2024 top overall pick Macklin Celebrini at Boston University. The 20-year-old had five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 38 games in his freshman year and was invited to Team USA’s summer camp for the 2025 IIHF World Junior squad, but did not make the WJC gold medal-winning squad last December.
In his sophomore year at BU, McCarthy showed some offensive growth, tripling his freshman point total with 16 (3 goals, 13 assists) in 39 games. Last season, he eclipsed that as a junior with 21 points (4 goals, 17 assists) in 36 games and after the Terriers season signed a three-year ELC with the Sabres. He finished up the season with the AHL Amerks, going scoreless in five games.
The Sabres will be looking for the young defender to fit into a young blueline group in Rochester, headed by 2025 top pick Radim Mrtka, and 2023 second-rounder Maxim Strbak.
Jim Rutherford has been inducted into another Hall of Fame. The Vancouver Canucks Senior Advisor will be included in the Pittsburgh Penguins Hall of Fame class of 2026. This year's class also includes Marc-Andre Fleury, Larry Murphy and Jack McGregor.
Before joining the Canucks, Rutherford spent 2014 to 2021 with the Penguins. During his time as Pittsburgh's General Manager, the 77-year-old won back-to-back Stanley Cups. In 2019, Rutherford was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside Guy Carbonneau, Sergei Zubov, Hayley Wickenheiser, Vaclav Nedomansky and Jerry York.
As for his time with Vancouver, Rutherford spent the last five seasons as President of Hockey Operations. He stepped down from his position this past summer and moved into the role of Senior Advisor. Rutherford is also the organization's Alternate Governor.
May 28, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford addresses reporters during media day before the start of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 13: From left, Colorado Rockies Executive Vice President Walker Monfort, new President of Baseball Operations Paul DePodesta and owner Dick Monfort during Depodesta's introductory press conference at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, November 13, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images) | Denver Post via Getty Images
One of my little pleasures in life is going to check the mail to see if I got anything. There’s just something so thrilling about that walk to the mailbox and checking to see if I got another letter from a credit card company trying to get me to apply for one.
Last week, I asked our Purple Row community to submit questions for a mailbag. I appreciate those who felt inclined to send in a question and for the great community involvement in everything we do here on the site. Now, without further ado, let’s read some mail!
Has Tyler Bell had surgery yet and if so, where is he in recovery? — sdcarp from Roanoke
At the time of writing, there still hasn’t been a clear indication that Tyler Bell has undergone surgery to repair his non-throwing shoulder, but it may have already happened or isn’t too far off. The 10th overall pick reported to Arizona with the rest of the 2026 draftees for the onboarding camp and was then placed on the 60-day injured list on July 24. It was reported in July that he would work with the Rockies to determine the best course of action concerning his shoulder and the timetable for the surgery. His professional debut will certainly be delayed in 2027, but the hope is that he can be a quick riser through the system once he is healthy.
It’s also important to remember that since Bell is not on the 40-man roster and therefore not a member of the MLB Players Association, there will be nothing impeding him during the offseason in terms of working and communicating with the club.
The Rockies have not always been the laughingstock of baseball. They had baseball people like Bob Gebhard and Dan O’Dowd and Don Baylor and Clint Hurdle. I’m looking for the “bad guy,” the guy who just screwed the pooch, over and above Dick Monfort. It’s Bridich, isn’t it? And Schmidt was just over his head. Right? — Truchero from Girona, Spain
When it comes to the struggles of the Colorado Rockies, this is a million-dollar question. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly one simple “bad guy,” as you put it, because there have been contributions from across the history of the franchise. Ultimately, the laughingstock the Rockies became has to fall on the shoulders of Dick Monfort. Since taking majority control of the team in 2005, Monfort has been deeply ingrained in the operations of the team, especially after the tragic passing of team president Kelli McGregor in 2010.
The failures of Jeff Bridich and Bill Schmidt over the last 10 years were a result of an insular organization that refused to play the game the rest of the league was playing. Dan O’Dowd resigned from the team in 2014 after the meddling from the front office. Monfort rejected outside ideas and failed to spend his money wisely. It often doesn’t matter if you have baseball people in the organization if the person at the top is adamant about calling the shots. Bridich and Schmidt definitely have their fair share of the blame, but it wasn’t just them.
Monfort stepping away this season and allowing his son Walker to run the team alongside Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes has been a major reason 2026 has seen improvement. Baseball people are making baseball decisions and working cohesively among themselves and with other teams in the league. The 2026 Rockies are operating like an actual sports organization and not like a small-town family business it used to.
What in the heck is going on with Tovar and what are the club’s options in dealing with him? It is painful to watch his AB’s. He chases everything and misses the pitches he should be punishing. It seems the dynamic SS prospects are in the lower minors, so I don’t see options there. —Mountain Ball from Highlands Ranch
The struggles of Ezequiel Tovar have been one of the more frustrating stories of the 2026 Rockies. After a strong showing by Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, Tovar has not had any sort of rhythm this season. The frustrating part is that these are problems that have been known since he first broke into the league in 2022. He had excellent years in 2023 and 2024, but the obvious issues of his incredibly aggressive approach caused the league to adjust against him, and he hasn’t adjusted back.
Tovar is under contract for four more seasons with a little under $50 million guaranteed. There is also a $23 million club option for 2031. At the moment, it would be difficult to entice a team to take on Tovar and the rest of his contract with such poor offensive numbers. Yes, he is still an elite defender, but the value is just too low without having to kick in money and prospects you’d rather not part with.
So, the Rockies will have to continue working on Tovar on the fly. He is still quite young, having just turned 25 this season, so there is still plenty of room for development. The Rockies will just have to exercise patience and hope that he takes to coaching more and is capable of making the necessary changes in his plate discipline. There have been hints of what he can do when his bat is clicking, but the pressure is mounting for him to start producing on a regular basis. The reinforcements are creeping up behind him.
How do you think the Penner investment has impacted the organization so far? PDP’s moves seem to indicate to me that he thinks the club can be competitive in 2028. Depending on 2027 results, do you think the Penner money will allow PDP to exceed the budget and spend his way into the playoffs in 2028? — Marcus M. from Denver
The addition of the Penner Sports Group as minority owners back in April was a welcome surprise as they bought a roughly 40% minority stake in the Rockies worth about $670 million. After seeing how the Walton-Penner group turned the Denver Broncos into a legitimate Super Bowl contender in such a short time, it’s easy to have those aspirations with the Rockies now.
Greg Penner recently spoke to the media about the partnership with the Monforts at Broncos training camp last week and made it clear that the Monforts are still fully in control. Penner is focused on being a support and has no involvement in the day-to-day baseball operations. Still, the influx of cash was likely a nice boost for the club and could give the Rockies some extra wiggle room to throw some cash around in the near future. How much liberty Paul DePodesta will have to spend money in 2027 and beyond is going to be determined by what happens in the CBA negotiations this winter. It’s also worth keeping in mind that there could be a scenario down the line where the Penners end up purchasing the Rockies from Monforts should they decide to sell.
The staff at the Purple Row are all very talented and thoughtful writers. It really doesn’t make sense that so many long-time posters (and I am sure lurkers) spend so much time caring about and investing their time in this franchise whose on-field play has given us so few reasons to care for most of their recent history.
I think a lot of it is the talent and commitment to fresh content and viewpoints you get on The Row all year. What was the team, or the game, or the player or the moment that caused the staff to care about this team as much as many of us do? —WhiskeyDrinkingManfrom Arvada
First off, thank you for these comments. We appreciate the constant quality engagement from the community. This year, we have seen increased engagement across the site, which is exciting because it means the Rockies are actually doing things that pique people’s interest, which we then get to write about. I can’t speak for all of our writers as the reasons for caring about the team vary, but the common thread is a deep-rooted love of baseball and the Rockies.
For myself, I love the Rockies since I’m a Colorado native and my dad was a fan from day one. My personal connection to the team solidified in 2007 during the World Series run. I was in sixth grade when the Rockies began the September run, and the excitement of my dad and my oldest brother made me pay closer attention. My dad got us Dish Network again so we could watch the games on television, something I hadn’t really ever done before. I knew about the legends of the team prior to 2007, but I was hooked on the Rockies after that.
Thank you again for the excellent questions! There were a couple that I hadn’t thought about before, and I was appreciative of the opportunity to think on these things.
Hopefully we can continue this type of article series during the offseason because we are definitely going to need things to talk about before baseball hopefully arrives next February.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JULY 22: Ildemaro Vargas #6 of the Arizona Diamondbacks delivers a ninth inning pitch against the Athletics at Chase Field on July 22, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. Diamondbacks won 15-5. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images
This particular rabbit-hole was first encountered after the series against the Athletics. Ildemaro Vargas had a walk-off hit in Tuesday’s game during that series, and then ended up closing out (if not closing) Wednesday’s game from the mound, being called on to pitch with a 12-run lead. Has that ever happened before? Has anyone got a walk-off hit one day, and then pitched the very next? There’s no easy way to find out, and my Tweets at the Elias Sports Bureau – who probably could check – went unanswered. So I had to dig into the question the hard way, and see if I could find any previous examples.
The obvious candidates are Babe Ruth and Shohei Ohtani. According to Baseball Reference, Ruth was credited with sixteen walk-off hits in his career. But as a pitcher, he only really was a regular from 1915-1919, with just nine major-league appearances on the mound outside those years. Ruth’s first walk-off wasn’t until 1918, severely cutting down the odds. Still, I chugged through the record books, and found a couple of close cases in 1919. He did the reverse: Ruth closed out a Red Sox win on July 30, and the following day had a walk-off hit in the 12th inning. And on September 20, the Babe started the game, moved to left in the sixth and had a walk-off HR off Lefty Williams in the 9th. But he didn’t pull a Vargas.
Ohtani was considerably simpler. Over his career, he has four walk-off hits. September 2020 (didn’t pitch after August 2nd); two in 2024 (didn’t pitch at all that year); and April 2o25 (didn’t start pitching until mid-June). So, not even close there. However, these are definitely not the only two pitchers to have recorded walk-off hits. You might think that would be extremely rare. And, to be honest, in the present day it is. Hasn’t happened for more than twenty years, and it likely never will again. The Manfred Man rule means marathon games are no more, so teams are unlikely to run out of position players, and have to let a pitcher hit.
Even the famous Ryne Nelson hit was as a PH, not a pitcher. Actual plate-appearances by pitchers, while not entirely extinct, are now incredibly rare. In the 2021 season, the last before the DH came to the National League, there were 4,829 of them. That number has been reduced by over 99%, with the average for 2022-25 being just 38 PA. They’re almost inevitably in blowouts, with a manager happy to give up an at-bat to get another inning from his reliever. Of 35 pitcher trips to the plate this year, none have been with a margin of less then eight runs. They have got four hits – but three were by position players like Vargas.
Most notable of those: Brett Sullivan’s HR while pitching for Colorado, and that came off another position player, Miguel Rojas! The only “true” pitcher to get a hit this year was Victor Mederos of the Braves, who drove in two runs with a single. He came into the game after seven innings with a 12-0 lead, in a triple switch which cost Atlanta the DH. Mederos then reached the plate with two outs in the eighth, and drove in a pair (below). Let’s quietly forget that it came off the Texas Rangers’ catcher, Kyle Higashioka. Instead, we’ll just revel in Victor becoming the 124th member of the “Career 1.000 BA Club”, a distinction he’s not likely to lose anytime soon.
[Side note: Ohtani hit a home-run on May 20th, leading off the game in San Diego before taking the mound in the bottom half of the inning. However, the box-score firmly records him in the batting order as a designated hitter, and so that doesn’t count as a pitcher HR]
But I did decide to look at pitchers who recorded walk-off hits, and see if any of them might have pitched the following day as well. Baseball Reference has play-by-play data going back to 1910, and they have 218 examples of pitchers with walk-off hits. Probably more than I’d have thought. Inevitably, the majority are in the early days of baseball, when complete games by starting pitchers were the standard, not a rare exception. In 1910, for instance, Walter Johnson made 42 starts, and finished 38 games. That certainly given your starter a shot at coming to the plate late. They could also hit better than recent pitchers. In 1921, they had a .521 OPS, compared to .293 in 2021.
Browsing the list makes for a fun wander through baseball history. People like Bullet Joe Bush, who had more walkoff hits (4) than any other pitcher, and is sometimes credited with inventing the forkball. Or knuckleballer Mickey Haefner, who performed the feat twice in eleven days during the 1945 season, but is best known for hitting Ted Williams in an exhibition game. Or Hall of Famer Red Ruffing, who on April 14th, 1933 made the ultimate statement, by hitting the only recorded walk-off grand-slam by a pitcher in major-league history. [Clay Bryant had a 1937 go-ahead slam in the 10th inning, but that was the top of the frame]
49 of these instances happened from 1910-19: in the live-ball era, there was one fewer the following decade, then fifty in the 1930’s. But they happened less frequently thereafter, and became perilously rare after the sixties, as teams would pinch-hit for their pitchers more often. There have been just eleven walk-off hits by a pitcher since the end of 1969, and one in the past thirty years. That belongs to Randy Keisler of the Reds on May 24, 2005 [though there have since been pinch-hitting pitchers to do it, such as Michael Lorenzen, who walked off against the D-backs in 2019]. He got the knock as his first career hit: Keisler said, “I was so excited that I swung at the first pitch, and it was 2 feet off the plate.”
Anyway, returning to the original topic. Has any of these players pitched the following night? I figure it was more likely to be a recent pitcher – a reliever. Iron-armed though the starters of yore were, they still weren’t going back to the mound on consecutive games. So I began with Keisler, and manually started tracking their pitching logs, to see if any threw the next night. Keisler did get the next night off, before pitching on May 26 – so close, but no cigar. Before him, Mike Stanton in 1994: he pitched four innings for Atlanta, in a game where the Braves scored seven in the ninth to force extras. He went 2-for-2 on the night, but got a well-deserved week off after that.
I had to go back to 1957 to find a match for Vargas’s feat here. On September 5, Bob Grim of the Yankees came up with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and the game tied 2-2. The 1954 Rookie of the Year had just worked round a leadoff double in the top half of the inning, and there were two men on base. He promptly ended his own night with a three-run homer, as documented by our siblings over at Pinstripe Alley. The following night, down in Washington, he came in to another tied game and put up a zero in the eighth. But he walked the first three batters in the ninth and, though rebounding with a groundout and pop fly, a missed catch error at second ended the game and Grim took the loss.
Now, it is definitely possible that someone took the Ildemaro route. A position player getting a walk-off hit one day, then pitching the next. The problem is, there are a lot more walk-off hits for position players. 129 this year alone, to be precise. Even flipping the script and starting with position players pitching, we have seen that almost as often – 119 times in 2026 already, not including Ohtani. Digging through those is also more intensive, since you need to go through the player’s game log into the box-score to determine if they had a walk-off hit. Maybe I’ll put samath on the job there, see if he scrape that data!
Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler leads, as of Wednesday, the American League in fWAR among qualified pitchers with 4.9. His 2.19 ERA is also the best in the junior circuit and third in the majors behind Jacob Misiorowski and Chris Sale.
Statistically, Schlittler’s 2026 season has been nothing short of amazing. In fact, he is well on his way to posting the best pitching season in recent franchise history, at least in the last ten years.
That’s right: he is already starting to flirt with Gerrit Cole’s 2021 and 2023 campaigns, as well as with Luis Severino’s 2017 and 2018 outputs. Check out the best Yankee pitching seasons by fWAR of the last decade:
Pitching season
fWAR
ERA
K%
BB%
IP
FIP
2017 Severino
5.6
2.98
29.4
6.5
193.1
3.07
2018 Severino
5.4
3.39
28.2
5.9
191.1
2.95
2023 Cole
5.3
2.63
27.0
5.8
209
3.16
2021 Cole
5.2
3.23
33.5
5.6
181.1
2.92
2026 Schlittler
4.9
2.19
31.4
5.6
152
2.58
The rate stats, such as ERA and the always reliable FIP, say that Schlittler definitely belongs in the conversation of best Yankees pitchers in the last decade. We realize that it might still be a bit premature to say that, so let’s just say his 2026 output belongs in the organization’s elite from the 2017 campaign to the current one.
Schlittler can do it all on the mound: he throws multiple types of fastballs and mixes in breaking balls; he continually flirts with triple digit velocity; he can locate all of his pitches, and he misses bats with most of them on a consistent basis. Oh, and he has the mentality of a bulldog and isn’t afraid to compete and even talk some trash, because he knows he can back it all up where it counts: on the mound.
Schlittler has, give or take, seven starts left in the regular season. For the sake of being conservative, let’s just say he has six left. He has racked up, on average, 0.19 fWAR per start this year. That would put him on a 6.0-fWAR pace, which would allow him to leapfrog Luis Severino’s brilliant 2017 campaign as the best in Yankees’ recent history.
Since we’re at it, let’s dive deep and examine how Schlittler’s current stats stack up against some of the best seasons in franchise history. Granted, Yankee history is chock-full of relevant position players and not that many pitchers, but there are still some incredible performances to discuss.
These are the best pitching seasons on the Bombers:
Pitching season
fWAR
ERA
K%
BB%
IP
FIP
1978 Ron Guidry
9.1
1.74
23.5
6.8
273.2
2.19
1904 Jack Chesbro
8.5
1.82
4.73 K/9
1.74 BB/9
454.2
2.11
1997 Andy Pettitte
7.2
2.88
16.8
6.6
240.1
2.96
2001 Mike Mussina
6.9
3.15
23.5
4.6
228.2
2.92
1979 Tommy John
6.9
2.96
9.9
5.8
276.1
3.10
The best year by a Yankees pitcher, according to fWAR, belongs to the Louisiana Lightning. Guidry’s brilliant 1978 had him flirting with the 10-fWAR threshold, an amazing achievement for pitchers. There have been just 20 such seasons in the history of Major League Baseball, dating back to 1871, and only one in the new millennium: Randy Johnson in 2001 (10.4).
Schlittler won’t match Guidry’s 1978 season this year, and it’s highly unlikely he cracks the top five unless he goes bananas in his remaining starts. However, the fact that he is already in the conversation in his first year as a full-time starter is impressive, to say the least.
Perhaps as we get closer to his prime, we might see Schlittler crack the top five in franchise history when it comes to individual seasons. He is off to a fantastic start in his career and, if fate allows him to enjoy good health, seems destined for greatness.
