Category: Sports News

The Columbus Clingstones went on a tear offensively, with Alex Lodise and Jordan Groshans each vying for the system lead in home runs with their output on Thursday night. Eric Hartman has yet to hit a home run in Double-A as those two have passed him up, but is showing some signs of life as well, while the pitching from top-to-bottom gave every level something to look at.

(61-61) Gwinnett Stripers 1, (56-66) Durham Bulls 3

Box Score

Statcast

• Patrick Clohisy, CF: 0-4, .374/.447/.539
• Lizandro Espinoza, SS: 0-4, .286/.286/.714
• JR Ritchie, SP: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 3.22 ERA
• Rolddy Munoz, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 3.74 ERA

JR Ritchie led the way in a well-pitched evening for the Gwinnett Stripers even though they choked the game away later on. Ritchie has been out of the zone too much in his recent starts and that did carry over for this game, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he commanded the ball poorly. He was elevating his fastball consistently even if he didn’t force a lot of chases above the zone, and was able to avoid his sinker getting battered around in the early innings. Once he settled into a groove late in this game and opened up the arsenal he hit the next level and his breaking stuff was at its peak for this outing. Ritchie had eight misses on his breaking ball which carried him to his seven strikeouts, and it was his ability to land the curveball at or below the strike zone that really stood out from this outing. Fastball and curveball placement being pluses doesn’t necessarily mesh with the walk rates we have seen from him recently but there really isn’t much to complain about with how he attacked on those two pitches. His changeup wasn’t where it needed to be which limited how effective he could be with the pitch as he left it up and on his glove side more often than not. He didn’t use it much at all until he got into the third trip through the order where he was mixing pitches well and hitters were off balance on much of what he was throwing, and he hit his peak in the fifth inning by striking out three batters with two men on base to protect a 1-0 lead.

While Ritchie was rolling the offense scuffled and got a bit lucky to get a run at all. Brett Wisely led off in the second inning by forcing a walk and then stole second base, so when Kyle Farmer’s chopped to the right side slid just past the first baseman Wisely was able to trot home and give Gwinnett a 1-0 lead. That lead held until the ninth inning. Neither pitching staff gave ground and Gwinnett turned to Rolddy Munoz. Munoz, unfortunately, had one of his blow up starts. Munoz had absolutely no clue where anything was going, and before you could blink he gave up a leadoff double, hit two batters, then walked home the tying run. Durham got two more in on sacrifices, but it should have been much worse. Munoz threw a slider dead center that got absolutely hammered into the right center field gap, but a diving play from Patrick Clohisy turned a bases-clearing hit into a sacrifice fly and kept Gwinnett in the game. The Stripers got two on in the ninth inning, but failed to score any of them. That diving catch from Clohisy was his lone contribution to the game, but it was a much improved version of Clohisy over some of his recent offensive outings. He made solid contact on a couple of occasions and put up a good approach at the plate, and if he can show more comfort with sliders like in this outing he should be able to put this recent meh stretch behind him. I’m really excited to see Lizandro Espinoza finally healthy again especially with the home run in yesterday’s game. He was not as successful last night with an 0-4 showing and I expect him to face an uphill battle trying to come back from injury and get a look at a new level, but he’s a player that is really worth a look. I was a fan of the changes to his approach that we’ve seen and increased impact he is making on the ball, and I thought prior to his injury he was on his way to a breakout season. He’s flown under the radar but steadily improved everything he needed to since joining the Braves, and the hit tool questions are a major concern but if he’s drawing walks, hitting the ball as hard as he has this season, and playing solid shortstop he’s going to get some major league looks at some point.

Swing and Misses

JR Ritchie – 14

(55-57) Columbus Clingstones 6, (61-56) Montgomery Biscuits 1

Box Score

• John Gil, 2B: 1-4, .293/.373/.397
• Eric Hartman, LF: 0-4, .211/.348/.228
• Alex Lodise, SS: 1-4, HR, .182/.250/.455
• Owen Carey, RF: 0-4, .232/.328/.411
• Garrett Baumann, SP: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 4.26 ERA

Last week Garrett Baumann went nine innings and this week he cruised through another seven with a game that was even better than it looks in the final stat line. Baumann gave up a run in the first inning when a hitter managed to muscle a fastball up and in out to right field for a double, then scored on a wild pitch that bounced well away from Archer Brookman behind the plate. After that he was in complete control of the game. Baumann dominated the top of the strike zone with his fastball, and Baumann often lives and dies by fastball command so seeing him this sharp was a great outcome. He consistently threw his four seamer past hitters, and when he needed to his curveball and changeup both had the bottom of the zone and produced results. Baumann’s curveball has taken a step to being the breaking pitch he needed to get him over the hump, and with that the biggest step is going to be consistently finding the edge with his fastball. Much of the damage against him comes because he lets his fastball drift down and doesn’t really have the fastball traits to miss a lot of bats, so days like this are refreshing when projecting him to another shot at Triple-A. He still lacks a pitch that I project as a go-to bat misser at the major league levels, but he has the basic command building blocks and an average arsenal top-to-bottom which should be enough to push him to a future as a starter.

The offense was the Jordan Groshans show once again. Groshans had his third-multi home run game of the season, a performance that pushed his hitting streak to 11 games. in that 11 game span he has six home runs and only three strikeouts, and this game would have pulled him into a tie for the system lead with 25 home runs. It would have been a tie, except before he got the chance Alex Lodise hit his first Double-A long ball. Lodise. Lodise showed off his great pop by staying back on a sinker and shooting it over the wall to right center field, and so far he has looked solid in the adjustment to Double-A. He had a couple of aggressive hacks on fastballs too far up for him to reach and whiffed, and that’s still something he needs to tone down in his approach, but he has continued to look better against spin. There were a few hard hit near misses in this game as well. Eric Hartman is still looking for his first Double-A home run and had another near miss, driving a ball in the first inning to the deepest part of the park where it died for a fly out. John Gil did a similar trick a few innings later, crushing a hanging slider out to left field where it died just shy of leaving the yard. I think Hartman has done well in terms of his approach upon being promoted, he just isn’t getting fastballs in the zone and he’s not producing a ton of power on other pitches. He’s been making more contact than the strikeout rates suggest and he’s just a bit off from hitting his stride. The biggest issue I see is that pitchers are keeping the ball away from him and he is still trying to yank those pitches, which is leading to more rollover ground balls than anything. His swing is geared to the pull side and it’s what makes him successful so it’s nothing the Braves can really change, but an attack plan to have better success on the outer third is going to be a key stepping stone for him.

Swing and Misses

Garrett Baumann – 18

Owen Hackman – 3

(56-58) Rome Emperors 5, (53-64) Hub City Spartanburgers 4

Box Score

• Carter Beck, CF: 0-4, RBI, .182/.182/.182
• Conor Essenburg, RF: 1-4, RBI, .204/.405/.296
• Luis Guanipa, DH: 1-4, .224/.234/.355
• Ethan Bagwell, SP: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 3.83 ERA

I tried to watch this game and think of what went wrong for Ethan Bagwell, and the honest answer is that it wasn’t very much. He allowed four runs in the second inning but the Spartanburgers did not hit the ball hard against him, and there were some borderline pitches in two-strike counts that went against him that extended at least one at bat longer than it should have gone. Bagwell didn’t have the best feel for his slider in this game and that didn’t help his cause, and it’s why he struggled to miss bats, but his fastball command was strong throughout. Bagwell worked around the edges with his fastball and utilized the pitch to get weak ground balls and quick outs, but that also had the effect of him having one inning where all of those hits found grass at the same time. It wasn’t Bagwell’s best work, because without a secondary offering to carry the weight late in counts he struggles to finish at bats and is reliant on batted ball luck, but his command was good enough and the batted balls he allowed don’t really support the four runs he gave up. He left his last start with some back soreness, so him being healthy for this game was already a positive, and it’s not great to speculate but it wouldn’t be out of the question to say there is still a lingering issue there. He was not near as sharp with his breaking ball as he has been for the past two months and I don’t expect that to be a trend that holds.

There wasn’t a huge amount to write home about offensively as Rome just took care of their opportunities when they had them. The Spartanburgers issued a lot of walks and hit Cody Miller a couple of times, and that put the Emperors in position to score runs which they pulled off. It was just a 1-4 day from Luis Guanipa but he looked as good as I’ve seen him at this level and he’s definitely working through some changes that are affecting his swing. He was aggressive in his first couple of at bats but he was swinging at hittable pitches in the strike zone, and in both cases he attacked with the intent to hit it hard on the pull side. One of those turned into a hard hit single, and approach early in the count is exactly what I’m hoping to see more of as the season draws to a close. He had some decent takes in his third at bat and ended with a ground out, and the only at bat he really looked uncomfortable was against a side-armer in the 7th inning. Guanipa is always going to be aggressive, and I’m fine with that sacrifice as long as he’s taking those hacks with intent to do more than just make contact and he did so in this game. Conor Essenburg had a couple of hard hit balls in addition to a couple of strikeouts. On the first one he just got beat and didn’t approach the at bat well, but the second wasn’t fully his fault. The opposing pitcher got two borderline calls, neither of which Essenburg liked and both of which were probably out of the zone, and it led to him feeling he had to chase a fastball off of the edge 0-2. Carter Beck had a rough one, with weak contact in his three plate appearances before ending the game getting dominated by a guy with a good changeup. This is the first time I’ve seen Beck really look lost against a specific pitch and I’m going to be keeping a close eye in future games on how he looks against right-handed changeups.

Swing and Misses 

Jacob Shafer – 5

Ethan Bagwell – 5

(62-54) Augusta GreenJackets 3, (58-58) Columbia Fireflies 4

Box Score

• Patrick Brosius, RF: 2-4, 2B, .297/.413/.514
• Juan Mateo, SS: 1-4, BB, .254/.332/.356
• Davis Polo, SP: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3.25 ERA

Davis Polo had an interesting dynamic in this start. His slider was solid but he wasn’t pitching with his best changeup, and he had to make some adjustments to find success against left-handed hitters. To start with the three runs, he made a couple of bad pitches that led to the Fireflies getting a run on an RBI double, but the rest of the inning was just bad luck. The next hitter got rewarded with an infield single that could have been called an error, but in any case was a bad hop that got away from the second baseman and led directly to another run to no fault of Polo. Polo ran into some control issues in the fifth inning that led to a run, but otherwise he did a good job of locating his fastball. For much of the game Polo was feeding sinkers low and mixing in sliders, and he got a ton of ground balls as usual but his secondaries just weren’t getting the results he was used to. Polo doesn’t pitch up in the strike zone as often as a lot of Braves prospects, but when he turned to that the second time through the order he had his best innings of the night. He was consistently pumping 93-95 and hitting it on the top edge of the strike zone, and the Fireflies couldn’t get to it to fight it off. Polo doesn’t often miss bats like that with his fastball and it was nice to see that facet of his game, and it’s something I would like to see be part of his approach more often in the future. That is dependent on Polo being able to actually command the ball there, which isn’t always a given, but it gives a lot more depth to his arsenal.

There wasn’t a great offensive showing from anybody, as top-to-bottom the lineup struck out quite a bit and it prevented them from taking advantage of the opportunities they were given often enough. Parker Brosius was the exception with a single, a double, and a hard hit fly out late in the game, but that’s going to be the expectation for him moving forward. I am interested to see Brosius tested against better stuff, because I want to see if he is going to be able to handle pitchers that can land fastballs on the inner half and breaking balls away more consistently. Brosius’s swing path can get long to the ball and he’s gear to yank everything, but I don’t see enough bat speed there to get away with that against consistently good velocity. He also doesn’t have a swing that shows the athleticism to adjust to spin and he’s going to be on top of it with his approach, those these are early returns and also pretty picky complaints for a ninth round pick at this stage.

Swing and Misses

Davis Polo – 10

Cristobal Abreu – 3

The demise of the starting pitcher has been much-bemoaned in recent years (including by yours truly when discussing America’s pastime with friends). Don’t tell that to some of the men who toed the slab Thursday though. Shane Bieber, Jacob deGrom, Grant Holmes, and Gavin Williams all starred for their respective clubs. Holmes flirted with history while deGrom and Williams hit impressive milestones.

It was nice of the Jays to come through when they did, as Gerrit Cole (speaking of outstanding pitching performances) spun a gem of his own to lead the Yanks to victory Thursday night.

Tampa Bay Rays (76-51) 1, Toronto Blue Jays (63-66) 5

After falling to Tampa Wednesday, Toronto rebounded Thursday, giving the Yankees a chance to pick up a game on the division-leading Rays. For the Jays, Shane Bieber recorded his second straight excellent start after giving up one run over six innings against the Yanks last week. Thursday, he again surrendered one lone run. This time, he tossed seven innings. In the last six days, he’s brought his season ERA down from 5.48 to 4.53. Not bad.

Offensively, the Jays played home run derby early. Kazuma Okamoto, Nathan Lukes, and Daz Cameron all hit long balls to put Toronto up 3-1 through five. Old nemesis George Springer delivered the dagger blow on Thursday though. His two-run single extended the Toronto lead to 5-1 in the seventh, more than enough run support for Bieber and the Jays bullpen.

Other Games

Houston Astros (64-64) 3, Los Angeles Angels (51-77) 18: I guess not every game can have a masterwork pitching performance. It still had a spectacular stat line though, in the form of Zach Neto of the Angels. Neto went 5-for-6 Thursday night, scored two runs, and drove in seven as the Angels mercilessly battered the Astros in Houston. The loss knocks the Astros down to .500 and moves Texas to within a game of first place in the mire of mediocrity known as the American League West.

Texas Rangers (63-65) 2, Washington Nationals (61-68 ) 0: Another fantastic performance on the mound, this time from a usual suspect. Jacob deGrom was vintage Thursday night, spinning six innings of one-hit shutout ball, striking out 10. His second strikeout of the night gave him 2,000 for his illustrious career. When his candidacy comes up for Cooperstown, it is going to be fascinating, because counting stats (other than Cy Young Awards) will not be on his side. But what a dominant peak he had. Offensively, Corey Seager gave him all the help required with a third innings solo home run, as Seager continues a hot stretch over the last couple weeks.

Chicago White Sox (66-61) 0, Atlanta Braves (75-53) 2: Old friend Andrew Benintendi singled in the seventh inning of this game. That is particularly noteworthy because it was the first hit against Braves starter Grant Holmes. It also ended Holmes’ day, but was Chicago’s only hit, as Atlanta pitching completely stifled the White Sox. Austin Riley, with RBI singles in the third and seventh innings, provided the game’s only offense. Unsurprisingly, this one was over in a crisp 2:22.

Cleveland Guardians (62-66) 5, San Francisco Giants (52-75) 2: Gavin Williams is having himself a nice second half for the Guardians. Thursday, he delivered 5.2 innings, whiffing 11 Giants’ hitters. That makes six of his last eight starts where the righty has notched double-digit strikeouts. Yesterday’s performance also gives him 201 strikeouts on the season in only 154.2 innings. Offensively, “Guards Ball” was on full display, with four singles and a sacrifice fly accounting for all five Cleveland runs. Very on brand.

Diamondbacks news

(Arizona Sports) Ketel Marte headed for 10-day IL, will then rejoin Diamondbacks

Gambadoro added Marte’s MRI “showed inflammation on his upper hamstring and medial joint of his knee.” He received an injection Thursday afternoon, and the D-backs hope his IL stay will be short.

Marte, his agent Charisse Espinosa-Dash, Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo met at Salt River Fields at 1 p.m. Thursday and had a “productive” conversation, according to Gambadoro.

(ESPN) Diamondbacks moving Marte to 10-day IL after strange absence

Marte’s absence and apparent injury come at a difficult time for the D-backs, who are fighting to make the playoffs for the first time since a run to the World Series in 2023. Arizona has a 67-61 record and is one game behind the San Diego Padres for the final National League wild-card spot.

Marte is hitting .249 with 21 homers and 67 RBIs so far this season.

(SI.com) Diamondbacks Sign Former Dodgers Infielder

The Arizona Diamondbacks are adding to their infield depth, according to their latest transaction.

Per the Diamondbacks’ transaction logs, the team has signed former Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Santiago Espinal.

It will be a minor league deal for the veteran infielder. He’ll report to Triple-A Reno, joining the Aces’ roster for the time being.

MLB News

(Yahoo! Sports) What could stop the LA Dodgers from three-peating in the World Series?

The big, bad Dodgers have looked awfully beatable lately.

They lost seven in a row to start this month. Over the weekend, they lost three of four to the Brewers at home. And this week, they swept the Rockies, but they didn’t make it look as easy as sweeping the Rockies should be for the two-time defending champions.

So what’s up with this juggernaut? And what could stand in the way of a third straight World Series title for LA?

[Ed. Note] The Feds

(AP) Rangers’ Jacob deGrom reaches 2,000 strikeouts in 2nd-fewest games and innings pitched

Jacob deGrom reached 2,000 career strikeouts in the second-fewest games and innings pitched in major league history when the Texas Rangers right-hander fanned the first two batters among his 10 K’s in a 2-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Thursday night.

DeGrom struck out Daylen Lile and Abimelec Ortiz, both of whom chased sliders below the zone. He received a standing ovation and acknowledged the applause by tapping his cap over his heart.

(NBC Sports) Brewers’ Pat Murphy doesn’t think his team has played great. Milwaukee’s record suggests otherwise

“There’s so much that I see that needs to improve, yet you look up and everybody’s saying, ‘Wow, I love the way you play,’ “ Murphy said. “And I look funny and I look behind me, and I see if they’re talking to someone else. Really? Maybe I’m too critical. Maybe I’m missing something. I don’t know. I do trust the team.

Hickory starter Evan Siary went seven innings, allowing two runs and striking out three.

Paulino Santana homered. Pablo Guerrero homered and walked twice. Yolfran Castillo had a double and a walk. Dewar Tovar had a hit. Josh Springer was 2 for 3 with a homer and a walk. Jeremy Owens and Seong-Jun Kim each had a hit.

Hickory box score

Hub City starter Case Matter threw two shutout innings, striking out one. Kamdyn Perry allowed five runs in three innings, walking three, hitting two batters and striking out one.

Evan Morrison was 2 for 4 with a double. Chandler Pollard doubled.

Hub City box score

Rehabbing Jack Leiter allowed five runs in three innings for Frisco, including a homer, walking two and striking out five. Joey Danielson allowed a run in an inning, striking out one. Dylan MacLean struck out three and walked three in four innings, allowing two runs. Eric Loomis struck out three in a shutout inning.

Yeison Morrobel homered. Arturo Disla was 2 for 4 with a double.

Frisco box score

Round Rock starter David Davalillo allowed two runs, including a homer, in 5.2 IP, striking out two and walking one. Ben Peoples allowed three runs in 0.1 IP, walking one and giving up a homer. Ryan Lobus allowed a homer to former Ranger Dustin Harris in one inning, walking one and striking out two. Michel Otanez struck out one and walked one in a scoreless inning.

Alejandro Osuna was 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles and a stolen base. Cam Cauley had a hit, a walk and a stolen base. Logan O’Hoppe had a pair of hits. Aaron Zavala was 2 for 4 with a homer.

Round Rock box score

The San Diego Padres finished a .500 road trip after dropping the final game of the series to the New York Mets by a score of 4-2. It was a disappointing end to a two-city trip that felt like it could have been much better. San Diego took two of three from the Cleveland Guardians and went into New York looking to replicate that success.

The Padres opened the series with the Mets with a 2-1 loss that saw four outs recorded at the plate in the first two innings. Three of those outs came on outfield assists and caused a lot of the Friar Faithful to question whether the team needed to make a change at the third base coach position. Of course, those were more heat of the moment discussions and they quickly dissipated the next night.

The second game of the series will forever be known as the Fernando Tatis Jr. Game. The star right fielder led off the game with a solo home run on the very first pitch. He later went on to add a two-run home run which was a welcome sight considering his slow start to the season in regard to his power numbers. But the home runs took a back seat to his defense which helped Robbie Ray maintain a lead and eventually earn a win.

With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning Tatis leaped high above the wall in right field to take away what would have been a grand slam home run from Francisco Lindor. The Padres would go on to win the game, 5-2.

In the final game of the series, the Frair Faithful were hoping for the Padres to ride the momentum from Tuesday night to a second consecutive win and a series win. However, they were unable to provide starter Michael King with any run support and they were unable to come through with a clutch hit in the final at-bat of the game. With runners on the corner with one out, pinch-hitter Austin Hays bounced into a double play and San Diego dropped the game and the series to New York with a 4-2 loss.

The Padres have little room for error in the win-loss columns and need to get back on track in the series opener against the Minnesota Twins tonight at Petco Park. The Twins are coming off a sweep of the Atlanta Braves and are engaged in their own playoff hunt in the American League. The sweep in Atlanta followed Minnesota getting swept in a three game set against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Padres have improved their starting rotation and have been getting consistent 6-plus-inning outings from their starters. They have an offense that has shown it can put up a big number on the scoreboard but the problem has been consistency. San Diego will be rested after a day off on Thursday and will get energy from what is likely to be another sellout crowd, but can they turn that into a win? That will be determined tonight at 6:40 p.m.

Padres News:

• It was announced on Thursday that the Padres have plans to reward their employees for the dedication and service to the organization.

• Samad Taylor began his rehab assignment with a bang, recording a home run in his first game back.

• Despite their small market moniker the Padres became the most expensive MLB franchise ever sold, according to a report from Dennis Lin in The Athletic.

Baseball News:

• Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom reached 2,000 strikeouts in a win over the Washington Nationals.

• Gerrit Cole helped the New York Yankees earn their fourth consecutive win with an eight-strikeout performance against the Baltimore Orioles.

• After a strange trip to Boston, Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was removed from the restricted list and placed on the 10-day IL.

• The Cincinnati Reds handed the St. Louis Cardinals a 10-9 win.

It’s a simple question. And for me it’s a simple answer. I watch the game for the players and for the moments they create on the field. For 8 years Rafael Devers wowed me with his bat, his flare for the dramatics, and with the attitude of boyish fun he brought to the field. I don’t want to be the type of person who cares about anything more than that.

Talk about Rafael Devers and whatever else you want in this space and, as always, be good to one another.

The Guardians won a series yesterday against the Giants. Now, time to see if they can win a second straight series against the Rockies this weekend.

The plan is to get Chase DeLauter, fully functional Jo Adell and Colin Holderman back for this series. We will see.

Jeff McNerny and I recorded a Disgusting Baseball Podcast last night. It was fun.

Around MLB:

White Sox, Astros and Orioles lost, Rangers and Blue Jays won.

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The Milwaukee Brewers (-140) have flexed their muscles against quality competition this season, posting a 41-21 record against teams over .500.

With Milwaukee starting the heavy favorite to win the NL Cy Young, my Braves vs. Brewers predictions and MLB picks see the Brewers earning another victory against a good team on Friday, Aug. 21.

Who will win Braves vs Brewers today: Brewers moneyline (-140)

The Milwaukee Brewers are better positioned for success at the dish.

Eight of their projected batters have been posting double-digit walk rates against lefties over the last 30 games. That will not only help them get on base, but it'll pester Chris Sale and increase his pitch count.

They’ve also hit for a lot of power, producing an 11.8% barrel rate (99th percentile) and 41.4% hard-hit rate (89th percentile) during that span.

The Atlanta Bravessit 29th in OBP vs. righties over the past 30 games, which will make life even harder against Jacob Misiorowski.

Bet this to -150.

COVERS INTEL: The Braves have struck out at the seventh-highest rate against righties in August. That doesn't bode well going up against Misiorowski and his 100th percentile K%.

Braves vs Brewers Over/Under pick: Over 6.0 (-110)

This total is too low.

Sale is exceptional, but he's pitched into the seventh inning just once over his last 10 starts, and Milwaukee’s patience at the plate should chase him in six innings or fewer. 

That would give Milwaukee plenty of opportunities to scratch together runs against a bullpen sitting 25th in xFIP over the last month.

Misiorowski isn't immune to power, allowing multiple homers in three of his last seven starts. He gives up a lot of fly balls, and the Braves boast the sluggers to capitalize.

I’d play the Over to -122.

Braves vs Brewers home run prediction: Gary Sanchez (+510)

Sale attacks right-handed bats with a steady dose of fastballs, and that’s good news for lefty-masher Gary Sanchez.

He's gone nuclear against four-seamers from southpaws, barreling up that pitch more than 22% of the time while posting a .684 ISO.

Sanchez has the ability to make Sale pay if he fails to locate his fastball, and that’s more likely if the Brewers can force the veteran into longer at-bats with their patience.

Bet this down to +480.

Braves vs Brewers weather

This game will be played in a dome.

Braves vs Brewers odds

• Moneyline: Braves +120 | Brewers -140
• Run line: Braves +1.5 (-190) | Brewers -1.5 (+160)
• Over/Under: Over 6.0 (-105) | Under 6.0 (-115)

Braves vs Brewers trend

Milwaukee has hit the moneyline in 34 of their last 50 home games (+9.25 units, 11% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Braves vs Brewers.

How to watch Braves vs Brewers and game info

Braves vs Brewers latest injuries

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It’s been thirty plus years since I have been able to watch every single pitch of the season. From 1991 to around 1997 I saw practically every game. I got used to all the subtleties of each interaction. I heard every cliche. Watched the ups and downs of the season. In those days the Braves got to be so automatic that if they lost three or four in a row, I really started to wonder what in the world was going on. And then one of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, or John Smoltz would take the bump. After that, they would win like 14 out of 18 and it would be like that losing streak didn’t happen.

It’s fair to say, I was spoiled like a lot of us. But one thing started happening over the years. I lost to ability to care about one particular regular season game. And then I started learning about expected stats in places like this one, I lost it a little more. I just can’t get that up or down over one game.

Oh sure, there are exceptions. This happened right around 12:30 am after a long rain delay. It’s Danny Young pitching in a tie game in the eighth inning, the pitcher the Braves gave up on to bring Ray Kerr back. There was no reason for Young to even sniff this game. Yet there he was, and the Braves were within 1.5 games of the Phillies. This was pretty infuriating.

This one was so delicious. This lit everybody up. Matt Olson actually displayed emotion. The bullpen fell apart, in a good way. It put the Braves up seven games and ready to crush for another five weeks. It took four hours for me to come down from that.

But for the most part, I have my eye on October. Maybe I shouldn’t but I do. The Braves could still mess this up, but there’s a 0.7% chance of that per Fangraphs. They could lose the division, but my spoiled fandom has seen a lot of divisions. I want them to beat the Dodgers and win it all. So I spend a lot of time watching this team and piecing together how the Postseason might take shape. The next week has my attention for that.

So are you living every single win and loss? I can’t do it much anymore. Baseball feeds the soul for six months and it’s a steady stream for me. Baseball broadcasts are the original podcasts, and are great for listening while enjoying the outdoors or watching the little ones in the pool. I’m too old for any other way.

Welp. What a difference four days makes. On August 16, the O’s were clobbering the Rays 10-2 to complete three straight wins in St. Petersburg, vaulting into sole possession of the third American League Wild Card spot. As of last night, they’d dropped four in a row, including a home sweep by the Yankees, tumbling back out of a playoff spot in the process and falling to six games under .500.

This is who the 2026 Orioles are: a team that can look like the best club in baseball for three days and the worst for four, sometimes in the same week. The question this week of baseball raises for is not whether Baltimore is erratic (that’s not much of a question); it’s whether last week’s high was real, and whether this week’s low means the season is effectively over, even if the math says otherwise.

After three days in Tampa, we were riding high. It wasn’t expected, against the AL’s best team by record—far from it. On August 14, the Orioles won 6-5, buoyed by home runs by Colton Cowser and Gunnar Henderson and a two-run Dylan Beavers single. That night, Chris Bassitt, returning for action after two months on the shelf, pitched a stalwart 5 1/3 innings, and although Yennier Cano gave up three runs in the ninth, Cam Sanders and the team hung on for a narrow win. The next day, they won by a narrow 4-3 margin, in ten innings behind a solid Kyle Bradish, who went six innings with two runs allowed, and homers by Pete Alonso and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Andrew Kittredge allowed the game-tying run in the ninth, but the Birds rallied in extras and Cam Sanders shut the door. Then came the laugher: on August 16, Jackson Holliday drove in three runs, Colton Cowser added a two-run homer in the sixth, and Trevor Rogers turned in six innings of two-run ball to close out the series, 10-2. Manager Craig Albernaz summed up the mood afterward: “For us, we really believe we can play with anyone.”

The series win pushed Baltimore to 61-63—sub-.500, yes, but nonetheless good enough in a jumbled Wild Card picture for the third and final spot, a half-game up on Texas and a full game up on Toronto, Cleveland, and Detroit. After a disheartening Trade Deadline that had you question whether this Orioles front office believes in the team anymore, it was a great moment.

Alas, the wheels soon came off. The Rays got the series finale back on the 17th, 7-6, in a game the Orioles should have had. Coby Mayo hit a 468-foot homer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand drove in four runs, and Baltimore led 6-4 into the seventh before Yennier Cano failed to get an out and the bullpen surrendered the lead.

A couple days later, the Yankees came to Camden Yards and swept. New York took Game 1 3-1, due to the offense’s total failure to back up a stellar Shane Baz, who struck out a season-high ten batters. The Yankees took Game 2, 5-3 on Wednesday in a game Baltimore arguably should have led in the seventh—that inning, a Pete Alonso fly ball down the left-field line was (wrongly) ruled foul, and the Yankees broke the ensuing tie with two runs in the eighth off Cam Sanders. Then, they got a lopsided 6-1 defeat on Thursday, with Gerrit Cole cruising and Kyle Bradish getting tagged for a pair of solo homers in the sixth. Dylan Beavers’ homer was the lone offensive highlight in that finale, much as as Coby Mayo’s had been two days earlier, with Baz on the mound.

It seems to me that the how of the wins and losses matters here, because this a specific, recurring failure mode. In three of the four losses, Baltimore’s offense either went cold against a plus starter (Cole, Rodón, and Yankees pitching generally), simply lacking thump besides a single big swing. In the other, a shaky bullpen turned a winnable game into a loss. Those are exactly the two questions that were hanging over this roster before the winning streak ever started, and the win streak didn’t dispositively answer either one. In fact, the team nearly lost the lead in Tampa in two of the three games; it was just well-timed hitting and a blowout that, in retrospect, obscured those weaknesses.

So: was the Tampa series a mirage or not? Truthfully, yes and no: this Orioles team is capable of exactly what Albernaz said, beating anyone on a given night, not to mention hanging with the pack in a decidedly mediocre AL Wild Card chase. But those wins ultimately were not proof that the team is good. A sub.-500 club that needs a hot week to sneak into a Wild Card spot in a weak field is, definitionally, a bubble team, and bubble teams have patent, obvious weaknesses.

As for whether Baltimore is really out of it: not numerically, not with more than five weeks left and half the AL still hovering within a couple of games of a playoff spot. But practically speaking, if the team’s ceiling is “beat a good opponent by doing just enough to cover for the weak bullpen” and their floor is “fail to hit decent starters, then blow leads,” they simply aren’t built for anything like a real playoff run. It seems that most of us in Birdland are well aware of this unfortunate fact.