ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 3: Tyler Kinley #45 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the ninth inning during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Truist Park on June 3, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr.Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The start of another three game series. 12 games left this season and we still have meaningful baseball. That really should be celebrated, because, over the last 30 years, Jays fans haven’t had that often enough.
12 games….would 8-4 be good enough? Likely? That would be winning 2 of 3 of each of the series we have left.
But then, winning one more game than the Guardians will do it. The Guardians are playing the White Sox tonight. The White Sox have reasons to win, so hopefully they will come up big.
The San Francisco Giants have endured the bad, the worse and the ugly throughout a 2026 campaign that started with high hopes and landed with bleak realities.
The Giants have been among the most disappointing teams in Major League Baseball this season. There was optimism in San Francisco when the team brought in first-year manager Tony Vitello from the college ranks with no previous MLB experience. Many experts predicted that the Giants would win 82 games and maybe even sneak into a wild-card berth. It would have been the most success the team has seen in nearly a half decade.
Then the season began and things shifted immediately. San Francisco isn't anywhere near discussions of making a postseason appearance. Instead, the Giants have the second-worst record in the National League (only the division-rival Colorado Rockies have a worse record).
The Giants haven't had the play they were expecting on the diamond. The Giants lacked depth in the bullpen, dealt with a series of injuries which contorted lineups, and key players just looked like a shell of themselves through large parts of the season. Vitello has been ejected from multiple games this season. Frustration has settled in San Francisco like fog covering the Golden Gate Bridge.
It's since seemed like a salvageable season after seeing younger prospects such as Bryce Eldridge see the field more. After a sluggish start, Rafael Devers found his bat as of late and is nearing a 40-homer season. There are few positive takeaways from the Giants this year, which leaves a little excitement for the next season.
Ranking MLB's 6 biggest disappointments of 2026 regular season
Steve Smith has revealed he is no guarantee to feature in the 2027 Ashes series in England, as he sets his sights on a surprise number one goal for the remainder of his glittering career.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - APRIL 09: Cincinnati Reds mascot Mr. Redlegs pumps up the crowd prior to a game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers at Great American Ball Park on April 09, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s a battle of lefties in Great American Ball Park on Monday night as the Cincinnati Reds welcome Tarik Skubal and the Los Angeles Dodgers to town for a four-game series.
Nick Lodolo gets the start for Cincinnati, with first pitch set for 6:40 PM ET.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 07: Pete Alonso #25 of the Baltimore Orioles reacts after drawing a walk to drive in a run in the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 07, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Pete Alonso will return to New York tonight in search of his 300th career home run. The Polar Bear is expected to receive a warm welcome at Citi Field after spending the first seven years of his career in a Mets uniform. The Orioles signed Alonso to a five year, $155-million deal last offseason.
Samuel Basallo will not be in the lineup tonight. Baltimore skipper Craig Albernaz said Basallo is dealing with some right shoulder discomfort. Carlos Narváez will bat ninth and catch starter Brandon Young.
Dylan Beavers is back atop the lineup and will play left field. Gunnar Henderson (shortstop), Coby Mayo (third base), and Jackson Holliday (second base) will round out the infield and the heart of the order.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand will bat sixth and DH. Heston Kjerstad will bat seventh and play right field, and Colton Cowser will bat eighth and take center.
Young has already tossed a career high 140.2 innings. With Baltimore all but out of contention, it’s fair to wonder if this could be his last start of the season. Young is 9-4 with a 3.71 ERA.
Prior to the game, Baltimore optioned RHP Yaramil Hiraldo and recalled RHP Codi Heuer. The Orioles acquired Heuer from Milwaukee for cash on August 3.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 13: Emmanuel Rodriguez #21 of the Minnesota Twins makes a catch during the game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Sunday, September 13, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Michael Turner/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
First Pitch (CT):6:40 PM TV: Twins.TV Radio: TIBN/830 WCCO/102.9 The Wolf /Audacy App Know Yo’ Foe:Pinstripe Alley
Bad news: the Twins play the Yankees. Good news: most of these Twins are young enough to not even know the Twins are cursed against the Evil Empire. But back to bad news: back-to-back MVP Aaron Judge is back after missing over 4 months.
Judge is still rounding into form, with the Yankees opting to bring him right back to the Bigs and forgo a rehab assignment. But even with a less-than-100% Judge, monster masher Giancarlo Stanton missing 90% of the season, and key starters Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Trent Grisham placed on the IL in the past week, this New York lineup is still plenty deep. Cody Bellinger is a rock steady contributor, while Ben Rice and midseason pickup Luis Garcia Jr. each have over 30 homers this season. Plus, they have their own exciting rookie tandem between shortstop George Lombard Jr. and humungous centerfielder Spencer Jones (think Matt Wallner but fast).
Dean Kremer will head to the mound for the Twins, who will look to provide some length after the debacle yesterday. Kremer’s home run rate has normalized since coming to Minnesota, as expected, but his strikeout rate has dropped while his walk rate climbed, so the overall results have still left Twins fans a bit wanting. I don’t think Kremer is at risk of being non-tendered in the offseason, but with all of Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, and Kremer set to be free agents after 2027, Jeremy Zoll and co. will likely want to do some shuffling in favor of long-term stability. Everyone from Kremer to my dog would feel much better about next year’s outlook if he can string together a few strong starts to end his campaign.
NOTES
Trevor Larnach was in the intial lineup but was scratched after getting injured pre-game. He is getting imagine on his wrist. Any missed time would end his season and potentially his Twins career.
Kaelen Culpepper remains out after getting drilled in the back by a fastball on Saturday. Derek Shelton sounded optimistic that he could be back tomorrow.
Royce Lewis also remains out after leaving yesterday with shoulder discomfort. We may be seeing the last of Lewis as a Twin as well.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 13: Steven Kwan #38 of the Cleveland Guardians makes a catch during the game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Sunday, September 13, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Michael Turner/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
CINCINNATI, OH - JULY 30: A wide angle view of the crowd watching Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) pitch against the Cincinnati Reds on July 30, 2025, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Freddie Freeman gets a rare day off as the Dodgers visit Great American Ball Park for the first time in 2026.
MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 11: Edgardo Henriquez (60) of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches a ball during a game between the Miami Marlins and the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 11, 2026 at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida.(Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
One day after allowing his first runs in four weeks, Dodgers reliever Edgardo Henríquez was placed on the 15-day injured list with lower back discomfort. His regular season is over.
Henríquez has been one of the best relievers on the team this season, with a 2.85 ERA and 2.47 xERA in 61 games, with 71 strikeouts and 25 walks in 60 innings, with a 29.3-percent strikeout rate and only one home run allowed. The 24-year-old leads the Dodgers bullpen in innings and xERA, and is second only to Tanner Scott in strikeouts.
Sunday was a rare rough outing for Henríquez, who allowed three hits, a walk, and two runs in the eighth inning, recording only two outs. Those were the first runs allowed by Henríquez since August 16, snapping a string of 11 consecutive scoreless appearances.
“It’s the confidence he has in his fastball. Everybody knows it’s not easy to hit 103, 104 coming at you with confidence,” outfielder Teoscar Hernández said last week on the Dodgers’ homestand. “That’s been the difference between the Edgardo we saw at the beginning of the year, and the Edgardo we’re seeing right now.”
Whether Henriquez will be ready and available once the postseason starts remains to be seen.
With Henríquez sidelined, Bobby Miller was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Miller was just optioned last Monday, but he’s able to return before his 15 days are up because he’s replacing an injured player.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JULY 28: Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 28, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dodgers and Reds continue their series on Tuesday in Cincinnati, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound.
Tuesday is Yamamoto’s 27th start of 2026, the lone Dodgers starting pitcher to remain active and in the rotation all year. He’s at 172 innings, needing only two innings to surpass his MLB regular season high of 173 2/3 innings set in his 30 starts in 2025. Yamamoto’s 6.62 innings per start is tops in the majors.
Right-hander Rhett Lowder starts for the Reds on Tuesday. He allowed seven runs in 3 1/3 innings to the Dodgers last Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. The winning pitcher that night was Yamamoto, who struck out 10 in seven innings.
Steve Ballmer’s decision to accept the NBA’s punishment may not be complete surrender.
It could be the Clippers’ only plausible path toward reclaiming some of the five first-round picks stripped from them.
After initially threatening to explore legal remedies, Ballmer suddenly reversed course and announced Sunday that the organization had paid its $30 million fine and would comply with the penalties arising from the Kawhi Leonard salary-cap scandal. Ballmer and business president Gillian Zucker received one-year suspensions, while basketball operations president Lawrence Frank was suspended for six months.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announces the 13th pick in the NBA basketball draft on Friday, June 23, 2023, in New York. AP
CBS Sports raised the possibility that cooperation could eventually persuade commissioner Adam Silver to reduce the draft sanctions. The theory rests on one unusually relevant precedent.
In 2000, the NBA stripped Minnesota of five first-round picks after uncovering secret agreements designed to circumvent the salary cap in its dealings with Joe Smith. The Timberwolves initially lost their selections from 2001 through 2005.
Only three picks ultimately disappeared.
The league restored Minnesota’s 2003 selection after owner Glen Taylor accepted his suspension and Kevin McHale agreed to a leave of absence, allowing both sides to abandon a prolonged dispute.
One year later, commissioner David Stern returned the 2005 pick, citing Minnesota’s conduct after the case and the severity of the other penalties.
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer sits on the sideline before an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls on Friday, March 13, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. AP Photo/Ryan SunMinnesota Timberwolves team owner Glen Taylor speaks in Minneapolis on Friday, June 6, 2014. Taylor has reached an agreement on his $1.5 billion sale of the club to e-commerce mogul Marc Lore and former baseball star Alex Rodriguez. AP
That history does not create an official appeals process or obligate Silver to show the Clippers similar mercy. Los Angeles was identified as a repeat offender, and its circumstances could become even less sympathetic if continuing scrutiny uncovers additional misconduct.
Ballmer’s statement also accepted responsibility for the disruption without conceding every finding in the NBA report. That distinction could matter if genuine contrition becomes part of Silver’s calculation.
Even one restored selection would be enormously valuable. The Clippers’ own first-rounders from 2029 through 2033 are gone, leaving the unprotected 2031 and 2033 picks acquired in the Leonard trade as essential rebuilding assets.
Fighting the league offered long odds and risked hardening its position. Compliance offers no guarantee of relief.
For a franchise staring at five empty first-round draft slots, however, precedent has cracked open a door that previously appeared sealed.
José Ramírez has been weakened by injury, but if there’s anything that can restore his strength it’s seeing the White Sox in the opposite dugout. | (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The series opener between the White Sox and Guardians will determine the AL Central. If that sounds overdramatic, perhaps you haven’t watched the last two weeks of South Side baseball.
Chicago limps into this game looking to right many wrongs. In their last 10 games, they’ve lost seven and produced a -9 run differential. The bats hit .179 with runners in scoring position, going a measly 14-for-78, and the rotation is out of steam. Starters have averaged 3.57 runs allowed in their last seven games before getting yanked in the middle of the fifth. Coming out of this slow stretch, the South Siders will be playing with a deck stacked against them.
Walking onto Progressive Field hasn’t been easy for this organization: Since 2020, the Sox are 16-28 in Cleveland, and that’s including the three-game series the Guardians took earlier this year. The White Sox haven’t swept the Guardians in a series in the last six years, and the story only gets uglier going back to the late 2010s. Not only does Cleveland have home-field advantage this week, but they just wrapped up a 6-4 record in their last 10 games and are eager to reclaim their spot as the division leader, which they last shared with the Sox on July 21. This match between the hungry Guardians and white-knuckling Sox will be a major tone-setter for the final 13 games of the year.
With a rotation crawling towards the end of the season, Sean Newcomb is once again an opener for the White Sox, against Gavin Williams, who has been all over the place in terms of quality outings this year. Williams has endurance on his side, averaging just short of six innings pitched per game, but Newcomb has been successful as an opener.
Here’s how the Sox line up at the plate:
And here’s how the Guards match up against them:
Don’t miss the first pitch, at 5:40 p.m. CDT on CHSN and ESPN Chicago WMVP 1000 AM.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 09: Davis Schneider #36 of the Toronto Blue Jays at bat during the game against the Philadelphia Phillies on August 9, 2026 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Happy Monday.
There was a roster move today, Jesús Sánchez was claimed off waivers the the Diamondbacks. Not really surprise that someone picked him up. There is power there, we just didn’t get it to come out.
And some real roster moves:
Rudy Martin Jr. has been put on the IL with a left hamstring strain.
Brendan Cellucci LHP has been called up. He has a 3.06 ERA in 46 appearances, mostly with the Bisons. In 53 innings he allowed 44 hits, 26 walks and 59 strikeouts.
Davis Schneider has been called up. In August, for the Bisons, he hit .250/.421/.607 with 3 home runs, 8 walks and 8 strikeouts. I feel a little better about him coming up considering he was actually hitting the ball some, and not just taking walks.
And Ricky Tiedemann has been optioned to Buffalo.
And there are some injury notes:
Trey Yesavage will throw three innings tomorrow (well, hopefully throw three innings) for the Bisons. If all goes well, he may be up soon after that.
Anthony Santander will play with the Bisons ‘through this week’. We knew he wasn’t likely to be coming up right away. He’s going to have to show he can hit some.
Apr 30, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) scores a run on New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (not pictured) sacrifice fly ball during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
Mets lineup
Francisco Lindor – SS Juan Soto – LF Bo Bichette – 3B Carson Benge – RF Jared Young – DH Marcus Semien – 2B A.J. Ewing – CF Brett Baty – 1B Francisco Alvarez – C
SP: Jonah Tong – RHP
Orioles lineup
Dylan Beavers – LF Pete Alonso – 1B Gunnar Henderson – SS Coby Mayo – 3B Jackson Holliday – 2B Christian Encarnacion-Strand – DH Heston Kjerstad – RF Colton Cowser – CF Carlos Narvaez – C
SP: Brandon Young – RHP
First pitch: 7:10 PM EDT TV: SNY Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
Inter and Roma lead Serie A, Como move up to third
Real Betis beat struggling Villarreal in La Liga
Inter fought back from two goals down to beat Udinese 5-3 on Monday, maintaining their perfect Serie A start alongside Roma, who won 2-0 at Torino before Saturday’s match between the joint leaders. Both sides have 12 points from four matches and share top spot before their encounter at the Stadio Olimpico, while Como are third on 10 points after beating Parma 2-1.
Udinese stunned Inter with two goals in the opening 16 minutes, as James Abankwah headed home unmarked after nine minutes before Jurgen Ekkelenkamp doubled the visitors’ lead with a close-range finish seven minutes later. Inter hit back through Carlos Augusto, whose long-range effort flew into the bottom corner, before Nicolò Barella levelled 10 minutes before half-time.
