A fourth stage win of the Tour for unstoppable Tadej Pogacar, as Paul Seixas takes the white jersey
They are mulling over the possibilities in the studio. “I like to see Jonus go for a stage win, be nice to see the underdog get one.” says Robbie McEwen. The panel think he should keep on riding for first place.
Meanwhile the battle for that third podium place is wide open.
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Well, last night was fun. 15 to 1 laughers tend to be that way. Hopefully, this sets the tone for the remainder of the season. How about 5 barrels for the Braves and 1 for the Rangers? One of those barrels was Austin Riley’s home run off a catcher. Another hard hit ball was reliever Victor Mederos’ 103 MPH RBI single. Can we spend a moment watching this again?
That’s an 80.1 MPH swing right there. Eephus or not, that’s quite a rip. The Braves had 15 batted balls at greater than 99 MPH of exit velocity. That’s their second highest total this season and is tied for 11th in all MLB games. Maybe the message is out: swing hard at strikes and kill, don’t try to place it. It seemed to be on display last night, at least.
Yes, it’s one game. And Cal Quantrill was definitely trying to be a little too fine. That does play into the other Braves approach, which is to take until deep in the count. The Braves did pick up nine hits with two strikes. But also starter Quantrill only got to throw 3.74 pitches per plate appearance. I don’t have a z-swing percentage (swings at pitches in the zone) at this hour, but I’m gonna say it was really high.
So are the Braves seeking strikes to destroy now? Please, please, please make it so.
The Cubs’ 5-2 loss to the Twins Friday night at Wrigley Field was certainly not the way we envisioned the season’s “second half’ beginning.
The offense (mostly) disappeared. And a long ball by the opposition proved the difference in the game.
Let’s begin at the beginning.
The Cubs took a first-inning lead. Pete Crow-Armstrong led off with a walk and stole second. Then Seiya Suzuki also walked.
Michael Busch’s single made it 1-0 Cubs [VIDEO].
So after 18 pitches, the Cubs had the lead and two runners on with nobody out. Big inning possible, right?
Well… no. Alex Bregman, who ended the first half so well, struck out. Then Ian Happ hit into a double play. Inning over, and already 0-for-2 with RISP. (That would become a theme on this night.)
The Cubs had another good scoring chance in the second. Nico Hoerner led off with a single and Michael Conforto followed with another hit. But again a strikeout (Carson Kelly) and double play (Dansby Swanson) would end the inning. That’s 0-for-4 with RISP if you’re keeping track.
In the top of the third, with a runner on first and nobody out, Tristan Gray hit a possible double-play ball to Busch. Unfortunately, Busch’s throw hit Swanson in the face [VIDEO].
There was a brief delay while Cubs staff tended to Swanson, who stayed in the game. Did this delay bother Colin Rea? He did warm up during the delay, but then allowed a single to Trevor Larnach that tied the game, followed by the pitch alluded to in the headline, a sweeper to Ryan Jeffers. Jeffers hit the ball into the bleachers for a three-run homer that made it 4-1 Twins.
The Cubs got another runner to scoring position in the bottom of the fourth. With two out, Nico had his second hit of the game and went to second on a throwing error. Conforto popped up to end the inning, 0-for-5 with RISP.
Rea settled down after the Jeffers homer and allowed just one further baserunner from the fourth through the sixth. It wasn’t that bad an outing, but I’m sure Rea would love to have that pitch back. From BCB’s JohnW53:
Because one of the four runs he allowed was unearned, Colin Rea earned a quality start.
It was his fourth, in 16 starts, tying him with Edward Cabrera and Jameson Taillon for second most on the Cubs, behind Shota Imanaga’s seven.
Ben Brown has three; Javier Assad and Matthew Boyd, two; and Cade Horton, one, for a total of 27.
The Angels began Friday with 27, which was 23rd most among the 30 teams. The Dodgers had 54; the Red Sox, 45; the Mariners, 44; and the Phillies, 43. No other team had more than 39.
The Angels moved ahead of the Cubs Friday with a very good start from Reid Detmers, who held the Tigers scoreless for six innings with seven strikeouts. I still would love to see the Cubs trade for Detmers before the deadline. (The Tigers won the game off the Angels bullpen.)
Anyway, the Cubs did put another run on the board in the sixth. Seiya Suzuki led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a ground out. Alex Bregman then walked and while Ian Happ was at bat, Suzuki scored on this wild pitch [VIDEO].
Bregman held at first on that wild pitch but advanced to second when Happ singled. With one out there were more scoring chances but… Hoerner hit into a force play and Conforto flied to center. That’s two more unsuccessful at-bats with RISP.
Drew Pomeranz entered to throw the seventh and walked the first two hitters he faced. A pinch-hit single by Ryan Kreidler made it 5-2. I’m thinking the Pomeranz Cubs Reunion Tour might not have too many gigs left.
The Cubs bats were mostly silent the rest of the way. The only baserunner over the last three innings was a leadoff walk by Happ in the ninth. In the eighth, Suzuki sent a ball to deep left-center, and a hat tip to Twins center fielder Luke Keaschall for this PCA-like sliding catch [VIDEO].
So: Lack of offense, lack of hitting with RISP (1-for-10 on the night) and the one pitch thrown for a three-run homer was what doomed this game. One good thing: Hoerner’s two hits. He hadn’t had two hits in a game since June 28. Hopefully this gets him going.
The Brewers won Friday so the Cubs now trail by six games in the NL Central. The Cubs maintained their lead for the first wild card spot over the Phillies, who were idle on Friday. Speaking of Fridays, from John:
With the loss, the Cubs now are 5-8 in their rare Friday night games at home.
They have lost the last five. The four before last night: 10-2 to the Marlins in June of 2021, 12-4 to the Cardinals in September of 2021, 4-2 to the Pirates in April of 2022 and 8-3 to the Red Sox in July of 2023.
The April 2022 game noted by John was moved from 1:20 to 7:05 early that day due to weather. The others were scheduled. Also, for whatever it’s worth, the Cubs are now 3-5 in 2026 wearing the “Chicago Blues” uniforms; they were 9-4 in them last year.
The Cubs will look to even up the series with the Twins Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Matthew Boyd will start for the Cubs and Taj Bradley goes for Minnesota. Game time is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
Do the Cardinals have enough pitching to make a deep playoff run if they make it to the postseason? Most people, myself included, would say “no” without much hesitation. Even the most optimistic fans will quickly dismiss the idea that the Cards could make noise in October if they snag a wild card spot. Sure, this team is fun, but they are don’t have the pitching necessary to win a playoff series, let alone the three or four necessary to be crowned champions of the world! But… is this actually true? Are the Cardinals uniquely incapable of getting hot in the playoffs because of their lack of dominant pitching? If so, what does the pitching staff look like that gives them a real fighting chance?
Spoiler alert, I am not going to definitively answer these questions today, but I am going to try to provide a little anecdotal color to try to bring this image of a “World Series-caliber pitching staff” into a bit more focus.
To do this, I am going to look at each of the eight pitching staffs from the past four World Series participants and see how the Cards stack up. I am using just the last four seasons because that captures the entirety of the 12-team playoff era. Yes, it is a small sample size, but it will at least point us in the right direction.
Disclaimer: I am including the Cardinal comparisons throughout this article for reference (and for fun!). I am not under the illusion that the Cardinals are proper World Series contenders this season.
What does a World Series-caliber pitching staff look like? First, here are the team regular-season hitter and pitcher FanGraphs WAR totals and league (as in AL or NL, not MLB) rank for the last eight World Series teams. The winner is bolded and the Cardinals’ current pace is added for reference.
I am going to focus on the teams pitching staffs, but I did want to include the position player WAR for reference. It is interesting that the last eight league winners have largely been more impressive on the position player side of things with an average league rank of third compared to sixth on the pitching side.
It is remarkable how similar the Cardinals are to the 2023 Diamondbacks in aggregate WAR pace. The big difference: the Diamondbacks had peak Zac Gallen to fuel their push. The Cardinals have had one ace-type season from a starting pitcher (Jack Flaherty in 2019) since Adam Wainwright exited his prime.
Once the postseason rolls around, teams rely heavily on their best few pitchers and top bullpen arms.
Here is some data comparing the 2022-2025 regular-season pitcher utilization to the postseason utilization.
The pitcher rank for this table is based on innings pitched rather than a rate stat. This is not perfect for ranking the team’s best pitchers in the regular season, but it is a very good proxy, particularly in the postseason.
The biggest differences in utilization are at the top and bottom of the spectrum. Team’s top two pitchers threw 24% of regular-season innings combined but that total jumped all the way to 38% in the playoffs. At the bottom of the depth chart, pitchers ranked below 11 threw a full quarter of regular-season innings but only 4% of postseason innings.
So, what is the quality of these thoroughbreds that successfully led their teams to the pennant?
Pitcher #1
The average World Series leader in innings pitched has given his team 31 innings throughout the postseason. This Frankenstein ace had an average regular-season WAR of 3.8 with 9.4 strikeouts per nine. Here is how the Cardinals’ presumptive Game 1 starter Dustin May lines up.
If you buy into May’s FIP over his ERA, he is right there with this group of aces in terms of his current pace. The strikeouts lag a bit. Of course, May has less of a track record than any of these pitchers, so it remains to be seen if he can keep this up for the rest of the year, but his work to date is absolutely worthy of starting Game 1 or 2 of a playoff series.
Pitcher #2
Game 2 is where things get a little tricky. The second-most-used pitcher is expected to give his team 25 postseason innings. In this fantasy postseason, I am giving the ball to Andre Pallante. Unfortunately, our playoff opponents’ No. 2 starters are arguably even better than the No. 1s with lower ERAs and FIPs, and more strikeouts.
Pitcher #3
Game 3, I will turn to Michael McGreevy. Shockingly, we might have a fighting chance as McGreevy has a much better ERA than his average opponent with a comparable FIP. Interestingly, we already see relievers enter the fray as their team’s most used pitchers with Jose Leclerc and Luke Weaver. This group of pitchers kicked in 16 postseason innings, on average.
Pitcher #4
As we move down to fourth on the depth chart, we are squarely in reliever territory with the exception of Shohei Ohtani and Cristian Javier. This group of pitchers gave their teams an average of 14 playoff innings. We will turn to Riley O’Brien as our top comp.
Once again we are surprisingly competitive, if you don’t mind the lower strikeout rate. At this point, we have accounted for 58% of the innings needed to cover our playoff run, so I will cut out the detailed player stats. The remaining innings start to spread out a bit more. The Cardinals may actually set up decently here if you have confidence that Liberatore and Leahy could return to the bullpen and pitch pitch more effectively out of the bullpen. Teams’ fifth through seventh most-used playoff pitchers each need to cover around ten innings throughout the postseason. Here is how my presumptive picks would line up.
Pitcher #5
Pitcher #6
Pitcher #7
I came out of this review more optimistic than I expected. There are two obvious concerns: a glaring hole at the No. 2 spot in the rotation and the lack of strikeouts across the board is depressing. Still, if you buy into the sustainability of Dustin May’s underlying metrics, this staff has a plausible path to patching the innings needed to cover a playoff run. This is all before we consider Gastelum or any of the Memphis pitchers emerging as leverage arms down the stretch.
None of this changes the fact that the Cardinals have an uphill battle to make the playoffs and are likely to trade May at the deadline. The ultimate goal is to win a World Series and the betting markets and projection systems give the Cardinals only a 1% chance of pulling it off. That honestly feels like a fair number, so I am in no way arguing that the Cardinals should push chips in for this season… But if they make it in, I think the pitching could be enough to keep things interesting.
Listen, we all knew that the Phillies had to get another reliever at the trade deadline. Somehow, some way, they had to make sure that the bullpen was fortified with someone else that could be used for high leverage situations since what they had wasn’t cutting it.
Then Brad Keller got hurt.
Now, it looks like they might need more than one reliever if they plan on getting someone from the outside. However, they also have other needs that might have to be addressed from outside of the organization. That makes our question of the day a little more complex.
Does the injury to Keller change your opinion on how the Phillies should be attacking this trade deadline?
Maybe you had another outfielder atop your wishlist when it came to spending prospect capital in a deal. Maybe you weren’t too sure of how the rotation would hold up even these last two months of the regular season. If they need more than one reliever, should they be focusing everything they have on that spot of the roster and let the other ones play out?
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Orioles fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
One of the Orioles storylines as the second half begins is that they’re going to have to find a way to replace the production they were getting from their surprisingly good starting third baseman, Blaze Alexander. The most optimistic timeline for his return might be somewhere around Labor Day. That’s a lot of games to get through without a solid defender and one of the team’s better hitters at the hot corner.
In this week’s survey, I asked Orioles fans how the team should go about trying to fill in for Alexander. How people feel about that one probably has a lot to do with whether they’re willing to give another chance for Coby Mayo to keep the job. Here’s how the results came out on this week’s survey:
That’s a sizable plurality willing to give Mayo the first shot here, though not an outright majority. I’m on Team Mayo, which isn’t to say I think he’s guaranteed to work out. This is an opportunity to find out if he can still be something after all, even if he’s disappointed so far across multiple chances in multiple seasons. Will he be able to adjust? Maybe we’re going to find out, as Mayo was in as the starter for the first game coming out of the break.
The second choice might get some play as well. The Orioles pulled infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand up from the minors as the corresponding roster move for Alexander going on the injured list. He is notionally capable of playing third base, and demonstrated in a 63-game sample three years ago that he can hit major league pitching. He has not demonstrated it since. We may find out more about this over the next six weeks or so too.
This week’s survey is sponsored by FanDuel.
Hit-by-pitch legend Ron Hunt passed away at the age of 85.
Another day, another piece contemplating which players the Mets will trade at the deadline.
The Athletic reported that the possibility of a Francisco Lindor trade is viewed as unlikely throughout the league.
Chris Sale had a dominant start and the Braves’ bats went nuclear as they destroyed the Rangers by a score of 15-1 to start their second half.
The Marlins went to extra innings in Milwaukee, failed to score the ghost runner in the tenth inning, and then surrendered a walk-off single to fall to the Brewers 2-1.
Andrés Chaparro hit two homers and tallied eight RBIs as part of an offensive barrage from the Nationals to propel them to a 23-4 victory over the Athletics.
While All-Star week should be a time for a celebration of the game, it was hard to escape the looming shadow of the upcoming labor negotiations.
Shohei Ohtani received an injection in his left knee and is scheduled to start Wednesday, though the Dodgers will be closely monitoring his workload.
Aaron Boone put his faith in Gerrit Cole last night, and it did not work out.
Aaron Judge is still recovering from his rib fracture and has not been cleared for baseball activities.
Garrett Crochet is another AL East star who continues to work towards a return from injury yet currently remains out of action.
MLB.com listed one player from each team who will be most important to their squad in the seccond half.
Last night’s game between the Pirates and Guardians was postponed due to poor air quality in Cleveland.
Joe Sokolowski provided the latest installment of This Week in Mets Quotes.
The National League voted to expand to ten teams (thereby setting the stage for the return of a second New York team) on this date in 1960.
MOOSIC, Pa. — Max Fried had two goals for his first rehab start on Friday night: Get in all his pitches and come away feeling good.
Mission accomplished.
The New York Yankees’ left-hander, who has not pitched in a game since May 13th due to a bone bruise in his pitching elbow, worked the first three innings for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in their 7-6 victory against the Worcester Red Sox at PNC Field. He overcame a lengthy first inning and allowed two runs and five hits — including a home run — with no walks, three strikeouts, and one wild pitch. He threw 52 pitches, 32 for strikes, and topped out at 95.4 mph.
“Mixing my pitches, some of my shapes. I felt like I was executing some good areas, especially outside that first inning and obviously the home run,” Fried said. “I felt like I was putting it where I wanted to and able to do what I wanted today, which was go out, try some new things, get through all my pitches, build up, and be healthy at the end.”
RailRiders manager Shelley Duncan felt Fried’s outing was solid.
“We didn’t have the best defense tonight behind him. He gave up a couple hits that could have been turned into outs. Tough plays for the fielders, I believe in those guys,” Duncan said. “But overall it was fun watching him. He had a long inning in the first and then a really efficient one in the second, which was a good bounce-back inning for him.
“He’s a hard guy to hit when he’s in the strike zone. He’s got a really loaded arsenal that makes it hard for hitters. It’s fun watching him out there.”
While Fried began his comeback from injury, George Lombard Jr. returned from an IL stint of his own. The Yankees’ No. 1 prospect — sidelined since June 16th with sprained fingers on his left (glove) hand that he suffered when reaching into a sliding Columbus Clippers runner while attempting to field a throw on a stolen base attempt — went 2-for-3 with a home run, walk, one RBI, and two runs. He handled five chances (four assists, one putout) at shortstop, but did have one throwing error.
“I’ve been kind of antsy to get back,” Lombard said. “It’s been about a month now, so I was ready to get back. My body feels good and I’m excited to get back with the team and hopefully keep helping the guys win games.”
Fried threw 28 pitches in two simulated innings June 29th, then threw 36 pitches in a live bullpen session July 11th. So coming into Friday night’s game, he was scheduled to throw about 50 pitches. He used up half that total in a six-batter top of the first inning.
Fried allowed a line-drive single on his second pitch to leadoff batter Nick Sogard, then wild-pitched him to second. After striking out Nate Eaton on five pitches, Mickey Gasper singled on a 2-0 count. He fanned Mikey Romero on seven pitches for the second out, but Andrew Knizner lined a 2-1 pitch through second baseman Marco Luciano to score Sogard and give Worcester a 1-0 lead. The lefty got Brett Harris to ground a 2-1 pitch to Lombard to end the inning.
“Just trying to get the feel of a game setting again. I’ve had a lot of BPs,” Fried said. “Trying to throw the ball over the plate, not walk guys, force action and they were ready. Ready to come out of the break.”
However, Fried rebounded in the second inning, throwing just nine pitches and getting a strikeout and ground out and a lineout.
But with one out in the third, Eaton jumped on a 2-1 pitch and sent it over the left-field fence for a home run.
“It was a slider, a pitch that I don’t really throw a ton,” Fried said. “But I wanted to try a bunch of different things today and see how it works. I guess that one didn’t.”
Gasper followed with a high chopper for an infield single. But Fried got Romero to ground out to second. Knizner then hit a grounder to third baseman Tyler Hardman that ricocheted off him and right to Lombard, who barehanded the ball and threw to first in time for the out to end the inning.
“That was one of those plays that rarely ever happen, but you’re looking for them when they do,” Lombard said. “It just kind of took a lucky bounce over to me and I was ready for it and I was able to make a good throw to first. It helped Max get out of that inning.”
After the lengthy first inning, Fried was glad to go three innings and hit his pitch limit.
“Twenty-five pitches after the first inning, I wanted to try to be able to make it through three, hopefully four,” Fried said. “When you get put behind the 8-ball like that, you just try to go out there and get a quick inning. It was nice to do that. I was able to get my three full innings, 50 pitches, and feeling good, so that’s the most important thing.”
What is next for Fried remains to be seen. Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters in New York that he expects Fried to make another rehab start Wednesday.
“I’ll just go wherever they want me to for the next one. It’s more about whatever the team needs,” Fried said. “If they want me to come and keep building up and have another outing, great. Whenever they feel like I’m ready to go and help the team, I’ll be there.”
Watching the Yankees struggle while he, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Carlos Rodón have been sidelined has been frustrating, but Fried believes the team will right itself.
“We’re a confident group. You’re not going to play your best baseball the whole year, all 162,” Fried said. “It’s been not as consistent as we’ve wanted it to, but we’re pretty motivated to come out of the break and play some of our best baseball, especially when it matters most.
“We definitely have some guys down that aren’t playing. But we also have a really deep team that’s really good. The guys filling in are more than capable of going out there and win baseball games. I’m just trying to give them as much support as I can and do what I need to make sure when I’m back that I’m contributing.”
Prior to his injury, Lombard certainly was contributing for the RailRiders, riding a nine-game hitting streak. It didn’t take him long to extend that to 10 games. He led off the the bottom of the first by crushing a 1-2 pitch from WooSox starter Raymond Burgos off the signage beyond the walkway above the bullpens in left field for his fifth Triple-A home run, tying the game at 1-1.
In two rehab appearances earlier this week with the Florida Coast League Yankees, he homered in each game.
“I was able to get some at-bats down in Tampa while I was rehabbing, so I was feeling good,” Lombard said. “I was looking for a good pitch to start off the game and put a good swing on it.”
With one out in the second, after Kenedy Corona hit a three-run home run to put the RailRiders in front, 4-1, Lombard walked and scored on a two-out double by No. 6 prospect Spencer Jones to make it 5-1. In the fourth, he singled with two outs and easily advanced to third on a single by J.C. Escarra. He struck out in his final at-bat leading off the top of the sixth and exited the game after seven innings.
“He made his presence felt right from the get-go,” Duncan said. “The thing that stood out was on Spencer’s double he put his head down and really busted it to score easy on that play. A lot of guys might watch the ball to see if it was a homer or not. It’s the little things — the plays he’s making on defense. Even though they gave him a throwing error on the one that got under (first baseman) Ernesto (Martinez Jr.’s) glove, it was a great play. He’s fun to watch, but it’s the little things that really stand out to me.”
Duncan said the plan is for Lombard to serve as DH on Saturday and play nine innings at shortstop Sunday.
A curious statistic is making its way across social media that connects four Houston Rockets players in a not-so-good way. Here’s a list of the worst layup FG% in the NBA over the last 5 seasons (min. 600 layup attempts)
So who’s on the list? Fred VanVleet, Clint Capela, and Tari Eason are all here. But each guy has a reason to be around. That figure provides some valuable context, but it doesn’t capture the full story.
Maybe VanVleet’s choice is the least surprising of all. He’s only 6′ so when he gets to the hoop, he’s going against a lot of taller defenders. He doesn’t finish at the rim with his athleticism. Instead, he’s driving to contested layups over shot blockers. But the point is, he’s ready to assault the paint even if it’s at a lower rate of conversion. It causes defenses to collapse, opening up possibilities for his teammates. Finishing percentage is only a small part of his overall offensive value. He’s still one of the top playmakers and one of the better volume 3-point shooters in the game.
Of the names on the list, Eason and his athleticism is the most surprising one. He’s relentless and high-energy, so he’s often throwing up off-balance shots in traffic. He presses the issue, he gets up the floor before the defense is set, and he produces turnovers. Those hard fouls can lead to some tough layups. But he’s a net positive due to his superb defense, rebounding, and ability to create additional possessions.
The biggest surprise could be the inclusion of Capela. He’s a traditional big man, dunks it and finishes at the rim, so you’d assume a much greater layup percentage. The number shows that he takes a lot of his non-dunk attempts in heavy contact or tough putback scenarios after offensive rebounds and not clean receptions in the pick-and-roll. However, Capela’s inclusion does make more sense when you factor in his age.
So really, this ranking just proves you can’t put someone in a box with one stat. VanVleet, Eason, and Capela all have trouble finishing layups, but they bring different ingredients that have helped make them vital pieces to the Rockets’ roster and winning culture.
Wallabies send off coach Joe Schmidt in style in Perth
Josh Canham leads nine-try rout with hat-trick
Despite Australian rugby’s struggles, tonight’s match is a sell out, the sixth in a row for the Wallabies.
Referee: Paris-born Englishman Christophe Ridley.
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Either Saturday or Sunday, whenever Dalton Rushing starts behind the plate again, he will pass Will Smith for the Dodgers lead in innings caught this season. Rushing has started 45 games and caught 389 1/3 innings this season. Smith, who started 44 games, is at 393 innings.
Smith was a starter on three championship teams in his first six full major league seasons, and the three-time All-Star last October and November set a record by catching all 73 innings in the World Series, in which he hit the championship-winning home run in Game 7.
But this year, Smith last played on June 5, and has been on the injured list ever since with neck inflammation. His rehab has slowed to the point that his return is still in question. From Bill Shaikin at the Los Angeles Times:
In a “best case” scenario, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday, Smith would miss another month.
That left Roberts to make a jolting admission, when I asked him if the team really can count on Smith returning this season.
We don’t know,” Roberts said, “but we certainly are counting on it.”
Max Muncy’s game-deciding two-run home run on Friday night at Yankee Stadium was his 227th home run since joining the Dodgers, only one behind Ron Cey for fifth place in franchise history.
The Yankees nearly scored the tying run in the eighth inning, but they erased Trent Grisham at the plate on a double off the wall by a throw by Andy Pages to a ranging Mookie Betts, who through home to Rushing, who reached to his right then swiped left for the game-saving out.
Said Betts, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:
“It was just off line a little bit. But it was a strong throw,” Betts said of the throw from Pages. “That’s the main thing. It wasn’t just a lollipop in there. He gave us a good strong throw and at some point you’ve got to do something cool.”
Roki Sasaki was sharp on Friday, allowing only an unearned run in his 5 2/3 innings, with five strikeouts. He also topped 100 mph 21 times on Friday, more than his major league totals to date. From Jack Harris of the California Post:
“It’s one game, so I can’t say anything declarative,” Sasaki said in Japanese. “But it’s the lower body. I reviewed how I use that part, and I think that went well.”
This is what the Dodgers had expected to see when they signed the much-hyped Sasaki out of Japan last year. This is what they’d been waiting to see over his turbulent transition to the majors in the season and a half since.
After a horrific start to NBA Summer League, including shooting 1-of-10 against the New Orleans Pelicans, it looked like Phoenix Suns two-way guard Koby Brea turned a corner against the Milwaukee Bucks when he hit 6 threes on 12 attempts in the team’s 95-88 win on Monday. Fans seemed happy (and relieved) for him.
In the next game against the Detroit Pistons, Brea’s struggles returned. Despite the win, he shot just five times and scored five points on 33% shooting from the field in 26 minutes.
The stat line for Brea through four games in Las Vegas? 7.8 points on 27/29/75 splits with 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 27.7 minutes played. He has sported an offensive rating of 84.4.
Known for his shooting prowess and possessing one of the regular-season roster’s three two-way contract spots, the 2025 second-rounder who spent time at Kentucky and Dayton in college is one of the focal points of the team’s Summer League roster, which is why fans have been paying close attention to his performance and are split on how concerned they are with him.
Half of the polled fanbase being nervous about Brea does not surprise me. Being retained on a two-way deal with a roster that mostly remained the same from a season ago, turnover is needed for the team to once again surpass its projected win total, and any player who is on the team not demonstrating an ability to help the squad could hinder that. Phoenix also has a lot of guards, including the recent two-way signing Pat Spencer.
While he shot 43% from deep last season, he took just 30 threes in his 12 games played, and more than 50% of them came in games 81 and 82 of the regular season, when Phoenix and their opponents were preparing for the postseason and were against lower-level competition. So while the percentages were strong, they are heavily skewed from just two of his 12 games.
When a player is given ample opportunities after a season with an organization, it is ideal for them to show signs of improvement in the Summer League and demonstrate that they are not meant to play more than a handful of games. The team shut down Koa Peat, Rasheer Fleming, and Khaman Maluach after the three showed strong performances in the team’s first four games. Brea has had just one good game.
He has another chance to prove himself in what could be the team’s last Summer League game of the season, but with 75% of his games him shooting under 34% from the field, it’s reasonable that half the fanbase is worried about Koby Brea’s play.
LAS VEGAS — When the Lakers hosted Peter Suder for a pre-draft workout, they were drawn to his basketball IQ.
His unselfishness.
His competitiveness.
All — especially the latter — were on display March 6 when Suder and the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks were on the cusp of an undefeated regular season and becoming the only unbeaten team in Division I men’s basketball.
The last obstacle in their way?
A road matchup against their in-state rival, the Ohio Bobcats, at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio.
Suder, the 2026 MAC Player of the Year, didn’t have his typical performance. But he made multiple clutch plays, scoring five of his 13 points during overtime, to help the RedHawks clinch the undefeated regular season, much to the dismay of the fiery crowd of 10,740.
“They were talking trash and letting us hear [it] the whole game,” Suder told The California Post.
Trash wasn’t just being talked — it was being thrown, too.
Wrappers.
Beer cans.
Any piece of trash in sight.
The Ohio fans made their feelings clear toward the RedHawks. And so did the Miami players, flipping off the fans during the chaotic scene.
“We started to get hit in the face with some trash when they’re throwing it at us, and it kind of just came out,” Suder told the Post.
Suder’s interaction with the fans went viral as he waved goodbye to the Ohio fans while saying, “F— k you, b——s.”
“It was awesome, I’m not going to lie,” Suder told the Post. “I enjoyed it.”
As Suder exchanged his red-and-white Miami jersey for the Lakers’ purple-and-gold uniform after signing a two-way contract with the franchise after going undrafted, his competitive nature has continued to be displayed.
Even when his shot hasn’t fallen during the Lakers’ summer league slate, which continues Saturday with their Las Vegas summer league semifinals matchup against the Warriors, Suder’s still diving for loose balls.
Hustling to create or save possessions.
Suder hasn’t shot as efficiently as he did in college, converting 33% of his shot attempts and 22.2% of his 3-pointers through six exhibitions.
After shooting 42.1% during his final season with the RedHawks, he knows that’ll be a significant factor for success in his NBA career.
“The No. 1 thing is for me to be successful and get a really good role at the NBA level and play consistent minutes, [I] got to be able to shoot the cover off the ball from 3,” he told the Post. “That’s got to become my bread and butter. And, obviously, I can make plays off of that, make other people better, make myself better, whether it’s finishing at the rim, just different types of things. But the No. 1 thing that they loved about me was just competitiveness and toughness, just not backing down from anybody.”
Suder is also aware of the “stereotype” he’ll be a part of in the NBA.
Which is why he’s working on his lateral quickness to help him become a more respected defender.
“My stereotype in the NBA is to be a 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 catch-and-shoot guy,” Suder told the Post. “The main thing that NBA teams do nowadays is they see an advantage that they like, and they just go at it and they just keep doing it until, basically, you earn their respect that you can guard the ball. So that’s one thing I’m going to definitely have to do. Whether it’s like plyometrics in the weight room, a bunch of mobility, just different types of things to get quicker. Whether it’s getting the body fat down.
“There’s so many little aspects that you can create, even if it’s a 0.2 second quicker that can win basketball games or help you guard somebody that’s smaller and quicker than you.”
Summer league has been the first step for Suder to get used to the differences between what he faced in a mid-major conference and the NBA.
“He’s going to be put in some different positions,” summer league coach Ty Abbott said. “He’s going to handle, he’s going to be off the ball a little bit, and for him it’s just about being aggressive, being confident, and coming in and … play your game. You got open windows, find windows, and then when you have the window, shoot it. So it’s about his shot-making ability, and then ability to be a little bit versatile, handle the ball a little bit, kind of a jack-of-all-trades thing there as well.”
The results weren’t even close on this one. And they should have been. We’re biased as Washington Wizards fans, right?
In our SB Nation Reacts survey this week we found that 72% of respondents believe AJ Dybantsa will have the best NBA career, well ahead of Caleb Wilson (12%), Darryn Peterson (8%), and Cam Boozer (8%).
It’s easy to see why. Dybantsa is widely viewed as a franchise-changing talent, and Wizards fans clearly hope he’s the player who leads Washington’s rebuild into the future. The other players will also have great careers, don’t get me wrong. But we are certainly behind our guy, AJ Dybantsa!
Even if the FanDuel odds of the Wizards beating the Hawks tomorrow aren’t great (and they are underdogs), I can’t wait to cover this team toward what I hope will be multiple playoff runs in the not-too-distant future.
Today’s Reflections
I wondered what articles would be out there on the Internet today, thinking it would be rather limited or of one voice.
Turns out there’s quite the variety, shown by the number of sections below. Therefore, it becomes difficult choosing who or what to talk about. But let’s start where there’s major interest.
It’s not a surprise, but Matt Shaw is most likely to be the hottest commodity for the Cubs when it comes time to make big trades. I like his game and I like the improvement that he has shown this season before he got hurt. However, he is blocked in the infield for the future, so he at best is an alternative for the outfield in 2027. But if he is the big kicker to make a big trade, the Cubs have to be willing to let him go.
An article below mentions Shaw for Tanner Bibee of Cleveland. Bibee has struggled often this season, but his last outing against the hot Marlins shows the type of pitcher he can be. And he would be under team control through the 2029 season with a team option for 2030. He’s not a TOR guy, but he would be a big boost to the rotation. Straight up for Shaw? Um, that would leave a lot of available pieces for the Cubs to use in other trades, and there’s only a small handful of very good pitchers out there to trade Shaw straight up, so that type of deal could work out very well. I would have to think Cleveland would want more, though.
Ben Brown and Shota Imanaga were the top two of the Cubs’ rotation, and trade talk looked heavily into either a TOR pitcher or rotational depth to complement them. But it is unknown when Brown will return, and if he does, how long will it take for him to return to the rotation. Smaller pieces, like Michael Wacha mentioned below for example, should be the type of targets the Cubs should look at. Yes, ideally the Cubs would acquire a TOR guy for the playoffs. But they have to get there first. Colin Rea has been extremely solid for the Cubs, but they can’t depend on him as a No. 2 for the playoffs, and he needs help getting the team there.
And that’s just among the first section of articles! There more PCA stories, Second-Half stories, next-year stories, post-Draft stories, a surprise 2016 World Series twist that could’ve changed Cubs history — just go look, okay? 🙂
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Trade and Roster Talk:
PCA- Mania Revs Up:
Second-Half Stories:
Minors and Post-Draft Articles:
Assorted Stories:
2016 Reunion:
Food For Thought:
Born and raised in Dallas, Stevie Ray Vaughan began playing guitar at age 7, inspired by older brother Jimmie. By age 12 he was playing in garage bands, and within a few years he joined semi-professional bands that occasionally landed gigs in local nightclubs. At 17 he dropped out of high school to concentrate on playing music. In 1970 Stevie was playing in a nine-piece horn band and then formed his first blues band, Blackbird, a year later. Blackbird moved to Austin and after a few more stints in various bands Vaughan joined Paul Ray and the Cobras in 1975. The Cobras were Austin’s Band of the Year in 1976. After paying his dues as a sideman Stevie formed Triple Threat Revue in 1977. Triple Threat also featured bassist W.C. Clark, and vocalist Lou Ann Barton. Barton left the band in 1979 and the group became Double Trouble, the name inspired by the Otis Rush song. Double Trouble featured Jack Newhouse on bass, Chris Layton on drums and Vaughan became the band’s lead singer. In 1981 Tommy Shannon joined on bass and the power trio was set.
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