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It’s Wednesday here at BCB After Dark: the coolest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the heat. It’s nice and cool in here. We’re all in a good mood. We’re glad for you to join the merriment. There’s no cover charge. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last night I asked you if you thought that Ryan Zeferjahn would get the most saves for the Cubs through the end of the season. Fully 69 percent of you were impressed enough with the Cubs’ new reliever with the atomic sweeper to say yes.

On Wednesday nights, I usually play some music and talk about movies for a while. But in case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been writing a lot of articles for the site over the past week. I’m also battling some mild stomach discomfort and 108 degree temperatures. (Outside. Not body temperature.) So I think I’m going to beg off the movie stuff tonight. You’re free to talk about any movies or TV shows you want in the comments. If you want to talk about the new Zendaya/Tom Holland/Jon Bernthal blockbuster and make sure we don’t know which film you’re talking about, you can. If you want to talk about whether Zendaya and Tom Holland are the Lunts of our time, you can. But I’m not going to prompt you.

But I think I can find some music for you in the meantime.

Tonight we have bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding playing “I Can’t Help It” at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2011. Joining Spalding are Leala Cyr (backing vocals); Sara Caswell (violin); Olivia de Prato (viola); Jody Redhage (cello); Leonardo Genovese (piano); Richie Barshay (drums).

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music.

Tonight I’m going to ask you what was the best Trade Deadline acquisition in Cubs’ history? Certainly time will tell on the players the Cubs got on Monday, but here are some of the most historic Trade Deadline pickups in Cubs history.

Here are some possibilities.

1945—Pitcher Hank Bowory

I wasn’t going to include Bowory because I’d be surprised if any of you remember him, but the Cubs got Bowory from the Yankees on July 27, 1945 for cash. Bowory went 11-2 with a 2.13 ERA as the Cubs won their last pennant until 2016. If manager Charlie Grimm hadn’t tried to pitch him three times in three games over four days in the World Series, the Cubs’ might have beaten the Tigers.

1984—Pitcher Rick Sutcliffe, catcher Ron Hassey and pitcher George Frazier for outfielders Mell Hall, Joe Carter and pitcher Don Schulte.

This is the one that many of you remember. Sutcliffe went 16-1 with a 2.69 ERA the rest of the way as the Cubs made the postseason for the first time since 1945. Sutcliffe won the Cy Young Award. Hassey hit .333/.405/.515 as Jody Davis’ backup. Frazier became a punching bag for Cubs fans in ‘85 and ‘86, but he was a decent but unspectacular middle reliever in 1984.

2003—Third baseman Aramis Ramírez and outfielder Kenny Lofton for José Hernandez and Bobby Hill.

This one is big because Ramírez wasn’t just a rental, although Lofton was. Ramírez became a fan favorite for the Cubs for nine seasons and hit .259/.314/.491 with 15 home runs the rest of the way in 2003. Lofton, who should be in the Hall of Fame, hit .327/.381/.471 the rest of the way and filled in center field for the injured Corey Patterson. I don’t need to tell you how this season ended, but the Cubs came extremely close to winning the pennant in 2003.

2008—Pitcher Rich Harden and pitcher Chad Gaudin for Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson and Josh Donaldson.

I almost didn’t include this one because the Cubs gave up Donaldson, who honestly was the third piece in this deal at the time and nobody thought much about him. But Harden was excellent in ‘08 as the Cubs went to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time since 1906 to 1908. Harden went 5-1 with a 1.77 ERA in 12 starts. Gaudin kind of laid an egg with the Cubs and the entire team sputtered out when they got swept by the Dodgers in the NL Division Series. Harden started and lost game three.

2016—Pitcher Aroldis Chapman for infielder Gleyber Torres, outfielder Billy McKinney and pitcher Adam Warren.

You can argue this is the move that put the Cubs over the top in 2016 and won their first title in 108 years. Chapman went 1-1 with 16 saves and a 1.01 ERA the rest of the way. He also pitched his heart out in the playoffs as manager Joe Maddon ran him out to the mound like a rented mule. He did give up that home run to Rajai Davis in Game 7, but man, he gutted through the ninth inning despite obviously being gassed. He kept the score tied until the rains came and the Cubs could win it all in the 10th.

So what was the greatest deadline trade in Cubs’ history?

Thank you for stopping by tonight. We’re sorry we opened so late, but we had an issue in the kitchen. Please get home safely. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.

The middle game of a three-game series with the Mariners in the Emerald City featured plenty of plunkings, a couple of ejections, and a crucial, late-innings home run in a 4-2 Seattle win.

The, uh, “revamped” Tigers rotation has a couple of new faces in it, and one of those belongs to Drew Anderson. After working as a starter in South Korea last season, the right-hander has done a little of everything for the Tigers this year: started a couple of times, saved a couple of games, and been brought into games anywhere between the fourth and the tenth inning. But now he’s been put into the starting rotation, and the plan is to have him gradually stretch out his start-lengths, so he wasn’t going to go starter distance in this one.

Bryan Woo got the nod for the M’s, and his home/away splits are truly astounding. Now, the stadium over there in Seattle is, and always has been, quite the pitcher’s paradise, but get this: at home this year he has an ERA of 2.20, and elsewhere it’s 6.71. At home, hitters are batting .167 with a .463 OPS; away, they’re batting .300 with an .819 OPS. That’s bananas, and the Tigers had their work cut out for them.

Detroit got its first baserunner in the top of the third when Max Clark got clipped by an inside sinker to lead off, which wouldn’t be the only such occurrene on this evening. With one out he advanced to second on a groundout, but with two outs Kevin McGonigle flew out harmlessly to left to strand Clark.

The bottom of the third saw the Mariners get back-to-back singles to lead off. Anderson handled it, getting a flyout and a ground-ball double play — the second consecutive inning that ended on a double-play grounder — and he was through three innings on only 33 pitches.

Gleyber Torres led off an eventful fourth inning with a single to right, and he tried to advance to third on a Dillon Dingler single to left. He slid into third feet-first and actually beat the throw, but his momentum carried him off the bag and he was tagged out. Riley Greene followed by getting hit as well, putting two runners on for Colt Keith who had a three-run home run taken away from him by a leaping Randy Arozarena.

Spencer Torkelson then, anticlimactically, struck out.

After a two-out infield single in the bottom of the fourth, Anderson’s day was done and Tyler Holton was brought in to face fellow lefty Josh Naylor. Holton got Naylor to pop out to shortstop and the inning was done. The book also closed on Anderson: 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 28 of 42 pitches for strikes. The plan was for Anderson to throw about 45 pitches, and I’m no mathematician but 42 is right around 45.

With two out in the fifth Woo hit his third batter of the night, nicking Zack McKinstry’s toe (which was confirmed on review), but McGonigle fouled-out to third for the final out. In the sixth with Dingler on first and two out, Keith again hit a ball hard — at 108 mph — but it was directly at the right fielder for the third out, and the game remained scoreless.

Holton carried on into the bottom of the sixth, and with two out his day was done; he retired all six batters he faced. Brenan Hanifee was summoned as his replacement, and the game did not remain scoreless for long: Arozarena double, intentional walk, three-run home run by Julio Rodríguez, whoopsie-daisy. That was it for Hanifee, as Drew Sommers was brought in to limit the damage, which he did by striking out Naylor.

With one out in the seventh Clark singled to centre, but was erased on a double-play grounder by Eduardo Valencia. That was the end of Woo’s night: seven shutout innings, three singles sprinkled here-and-there. Exactly what you expect from him in his home park.

Enmanuel De Jesus took over the pitching duties in the bottom of the seventh, and he started off by plunking Cal Raleigh in the gut, which certainly got the home team’s attention despite it clearly being unintentional.

If you’ve been counting, and the players certainly had, at this point the Mariners had hit three Tigers batters against one that the Tigers had hit. So with two out in the top of the eighth — the first two batters being rookies, natch — the first pitch from Gabe Speier to Torres was extremely inside, near his belt buckle. The second pitch made contact with Torres, the benches emptied, the bullpens emptied, much yelling and milling-about ensued, and both Speier and Seattle manager Dan Wilson were shown the door by the umpiring crew.

Eduard Bazardo was brought in to replace the ejected Speier; the first batter he faced was Dingler, and Dingler made the Mariners pay for their transgressions with a long two-run home run to narrow the score to 3-2.

De Jesus carried on into the bottom of the eighth and gave up a leadoff solo home run to Colt Emerson to push the score to 4-2. So much for momentum.

Andrés Muñoz, the Seattle closer with lights-out stuff, was brought in for the ninth: he got a pair of strikeouts and a groundout, and that was that.

Final score: Mariners 4, Tigers 2

Numbers and Observances

• Coming into tonight’s game, Colt Keith has had quite a post-All-Star Game run: 48 plate appearances, 19-for-43 (.442) with four doubles and two triples, for an OPS of 1.107. Pretty unlucky tonight, though.
• That may not quite be sustainable, though: his batting average on balls in play (BABip), normally around .290 for hitters, is a ludicrous .500. (That means he’s been very lucky.)
• A certain ex-Tigers right-handed pitcher gave up eight runs in 3 1/3 innings for the Padres tonight.
• On this day in 1888, Bertha Benz drove from Mannheim to Pforzheim, in southwestern Germany. Those two cities are about 100 km (60 mi) apart, which means that this was the first long-distance trip taken in an automobile. She took her two teenage sons with her, and they spent the whole time telling her to change the radio station, despite radio not having been invented yet.

Mariners 4, Tigers 2

Good night kisses: Julio Rodríguez, .40 WPA; Bryan Woo, .38 WPA

Morning breath: Cole Young, -.14 WPA; Eduard Bazardo, -.08 WPA

Game thread comment of the day:

(answer: like, so sick.)

Well, outside of a rough stretch in June and an underwhelming trade deadline, this Braves team has been cruising in 2026 and has the second best record in baseball. They still probably need some bats to step up (Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, and Ronald Acuna, looking at you) and the emergence of at least one real playoff starter from the prospects and/or Tyler Mahle to be considered true postseason threats outside of variance, but they are getting the job done quite well in the regular season. Getting the bye and being able to set the pitching up would be huge for this roster, enabling the Braves to line up Chris Sale twice in the NLDS. They have stiff competition in the Brewers and Dodgers though, so that will be a tight race to watch for the rest of the year.

Braves News

We took a deep dive into the Braves’ Q2 financial report, including insight into BravesVision revenue.

Bryce Elder got the job done through 7.0 innings and the Braves won their seventh straight, this one in comfortable 4-1 fashion.

MLB News

The Reds are placing star pitcher Hunter Greene on the IL with right elbow soreness, never a good thing to hear about a pitcher.

The Blue Jays are placing Trey Yesavage on the IL with knee discomfort and are awaiting MRI results.

Mariners’ Luke Raley is expected to miss the rest of the season with a forearm strain.

This is a different Yankees lineup and look, with George Lombard Jr. flourishing early, Spencer Jones given a runway and Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos working themselves into the mix with their new club. 

And yet this is the same Yankees problem: a lineup lacking a pulse without the heart of the team. 

Hours after Aaron Judge declared he would return at some point this season, the batting order he left behind played as if it wanted to convey to the captain that he better hurry up. 

A problem that recently has been partially disguised by excellent pitching and Lombard bursting on the scene had nowhere to hide Wednesday, when the Yankees were silenced 3-1 by the Cardinals in a slog of a game marked by frequent pauses of play and virtually no excitement while the home team was at bat. 

The 37,425 on hand in The Bronx waited through a 68-minute rain delay before the game started, then groaned as Yankee Stadium lights continually turned off in the early innings, then ran for cover during a brief sixth-inning downpour, then checked their phones as a Cardinals pitcher slipped on a slick mound in the seventh, prompting the grounds crew to hustle over and rake the dirt. 

The few left by the end were not rewarded for their patience as the Yankees (64-51) dropped the series, fell 4 ¹/₂ games back of the Rays and slipped to a single game clear of the Red Sox for the top wild-card spot. 

“I thought [Cardinals starter Andre] Pallante was good, but we gotta get it done,” manager Aaron Boone said after his group finished with four hits, none of which arrived with runners in scoring position (0-for-10), and looked as if most of its at-bats came with the lights out. “We got to come through in those situations.” 

The Yankees have scored more than five runs in four of their past 43 games, a startling drought regardless of personnel, spanning a stretch in which they are averaging 3.3 runs per game. The entire stretch has come without Judge, whose fractured rib has threatened to derail the team’s season, though Wednesday he began some light activities. 

Hollow bats give the pitching staff and defense little margin for error, and Will Warren and arguably Trent Grisham in center field were not perfect. 

Warren rolled through four innings before encountering trouble in the game-deciding fifth. With runners on the corners and two outs, young standout JJ Wetherholt put a good swing on a sweeper — “Hindsight, probably throw a different pitch,” Warren bemoaned — that became a high drive to center field. 

“Off the bat I thought I had a pretty good chance at it,” Grisham said. “As I was going back, it just kind of kept going.” 

Grisham got turned around on the play, then decided to play the ball off the wall. The ball did not hit the wall, short-hopping it and going for a two-run double, which was followed by another double for the only three runs St. Louis would need. 

The Yankees had many opportunities in the middle and late innings and wasted them. There was an inning-ending double play from Austin Wells; a near breakthrough in which three walks and a hit by pitch scored one run before Ryan McMahon struck out with the bases loaded; García stranding two with a groundout; and an otherwise exuberant Lombard swinging through Ryne Stanek heat with two runners on board. 

Lombard (1-for-4 with a few standout defensive plays again) continues to entertain and inspire hope, but when virtually anyone else was at the plate, the Yankees looked hopeless. 

The night’s leadoff hitter, Grisham (0-for-5), is 8-for-71 (.113) in his past 20 games. 

Spencer Jones (0-for-4), who had shown enough to keep his big league spot while Jasson Domínguez was optioned, has gone 0-for-15 in his past four games. 

Chisholm (0-for-2 with two walks) is 1-for-17 in his past five games. 

Asked what was missing in the threats that did not quite become rallies, Grisham summed it up well: “Hits.”

After a rain delay that prevented the start of the game for an hour and then multiple lights failures causing brief stoppages, the Yankees looked like they were mostly still waiting for the game to start, even after it did.

On the mound, Will Warren was coming of a scoreless outing against the Cubs in his last start, and while he wasn’t awful in this one, he wasn’t great. In his 5.1 innings, he allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk. All of the runs off him came in a frustrating sequence, where he couldn’t get out of a jam despite having two outs.

That being said, the reason for the defeat fell much more on the Yankees’ offense. While they did have their chances, recording eight walks on the night, as a team the Yankees combined for just four hits, none of which came with runners on. While Tuesday night provided a glimmer of hope, the Yankees still only managed two in that game, and they followed that up with just one in this one.

A rainy, dreary game proved to be just that for the Yankees, as they fell to the Cardinals 3-1 on Wednesday night.

The teams traded zeroes for a while, but the Cardinals eventually broke through against Warren in the fifth. Blaze Jordan and Jimmy Crooks got Warren for singles to put two on, but Warren was on the verge of escaping the inning after Austin Wells successfully challenged a ball four into a strike three. However, JJ Weatherholt and Iván Herrera got Warren for a pair of two-out doubles, scoring three runs for St. Louis.

The Yankees didn’t do much against Cardinals starter Andre Pallante, but they finally got something going in the sixth inning. Ben Rice started things off with a walk and ended up on third after a wild pitch/catcher throwing error gifted him two bases. Luis García Jr. then knocked Pallante out after drawing a walk following an 11-pitch battle. George Soriano came in and hit Heliot Ramos with a pitch loading the bases. Over the next two plate appearances, the Yankees didn’t do a ton of swinging as Soriano continued to struggle to find the zone. In two consecutive full count situations, the Cardinals’ catcher Herrera challenged a pitch initially called a ball. The first one — to Spencer Jones — was overturned into a strike, but the second — to Jazz Chisholm Jr. — was indeed a ball, walking in a run to get the Yankees on the board. However, the Yankees couldn’t capitalize further with the bases left loaded.

After leaving a couple on in that inning, that became a bit of a theme for the Yankees going forward. They left more runners on in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. Paul Goldschmidt hit one to the warning track and Ben Rice drew a walk in the ninth, but that was the extent of any rally, as the Yankees dropped the game and series.

In his second career MLB game, George Lombard Jr. didn’t do anything as notable as his homer on Tuesday, drawing a walk, but also striking out with two on to end the eighth. However, he did make a couple very nice plays in the field, including this one in the third inning.

The Yankees will get tomorrow off before welcoming the Braves to town for a weekend series. Max Fried is expected to get the ball for the Yankees against his old team, while Atlanta’s starter hasn’t been announced at time of writing.

Box score

That was unexpectedly fun, given the pitching matchup. The suddenly lukewarm Jays are 3.0 out of the third wildcard and a mere seven games below .500.

It took a while to figure Hunter Brown out. A Jesus Sanchez walk and a reached on error by Kazuma Okamoto that was promptly erased by a double play were all they managed through five innings.

Meanwhile, the Astros were onto Jameson Taillon early. Two walks and a hit loaded the bases with one out in the first. He escaped that jam, but a Jose Altuve home run in the third, followed by a pair of singles and a double, put the Astros up three. Taillon rallied to record a clean fourth, but the Jays found themselves in a hole they didn’t appear likely to climb out of.

Then, in the sixth, Myles straw broke up the no hitter with a double to left. Okamoto brought him home with a single to put Toronto on the board, and Jesus Sanche homered to tie the game at three.

Things settled there for the rest of the regulation innings. Spencer Miles had taken over and handled the fifth cleanly. He got into trouble in the sixth, giving up a leadoff single and a double, but good fielding by Nathan Lukes prevented the lead runner from scoring, and he buckled down to escape the inning with the tie still in place.

Steven Okert and Mason Fluharty exchanged hitless sevemty innings. Bryan Abreu did the same in the top of eight, while Tyler Rogers worked around a single with the help of a caught stealing by Brandon Valenzuela. Closers Josh Hader and Louis Varland each handled the ninth without trouble.

Finally, in the tenth, Ernie Clement lead off with a home run. Woth the Mandred Man on, that staked the Jays to a 5-4 lead. With the Jays leverage relievers either burnt or now playing for the Twins, Chase Lee got the call to lock it down. He got some help when Yordan Alvarez, leading off, was gunned down trying to stretch a single by Nathan Lukes. It scored the automatic runner, but gave Lee clean bases to work with. He got a pair of fly outs to end the game.

Jays of the Day: Clement (0.26), Sanchez (0.24), Lee (0.20), Varland (0.14), Rogers (0.11), Miles (0.10), and we’ll round up on Fluharty (0.09)

Less So: Taillon (-0.14), Springer (-0.11), and we’ll excuse Lukes (-0.10) for his fielding additions.

It’s off toWrigley Field tomorrow to make up a game that was rained out back in June. Dylan Cease (7-5, 2.41) will face David Peterson (6-7, 5.52). It’s a day game, as the Jays will have to hop back on the plane to get to Philly for their weekend series. First pitch is 2:10pm ET.

CLEVELAND — Jorge Polanco is trying to swing his way back to productivity.

The veteran DH took about 300 swings Wednesday before the Mets faced the Guardians at Progressive Field, according to Andy Green, leaving the interim manager cautiously optimistic that success would follow.

Polanco delivered with a 2-for-4 performance that included his second homer of the season (and first since April). The third-inning blast snapped his 0-for-26 skid.

“After putting a lot of work in it feels great,” Polanco said following the 6-5 victory in 10 innings.

Polanco began the night with a paltry .388 OPS as the poster child of president of operations David Stearns’ failed offseason overhaul.

“Sometimes the sweat equity gets you rolling again,” Green said of Polanco’s workout. “There’s a ton of ability in him. There’s a long track record. If you’re out there watching him there’s a good swing. He’s got a lot of things going for him.”

Polanco, who arrived on a two-year contract worth $40 million, has dealt with Achilles and wrist injuries that have limited him to 30 games this season.

Sammy Stafura, acquired by the Mets in a trade Monday, was named the South Atlantic League (High-A) Player of the Month for July. The shortstop led the league in homers (14), RBIs (35), slugging percentage (.926) and OPS (1.305) among other offensive categories.

The Mets traded Luke Weaver to the Pirates for the 21-year-old Stafura.

Jefry Yan became the seventh Mets player to make his major league debut this season — joining Nate Lavender, Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, Nick Morabito, Matt Seelinger and Zac Thornton.

Brett Baty, whose previous outfield appearances this season have been in right field, got the start in left Wednesday. Green indicated such an alignment was a product of wanting to keep Benge in right field.

“When you look out at this outfield, this is one of the biggest right fields in baseball and I think we know how good Carson is in right field,” Green said. “It’s a tighter left field, obviously a very big wall. If [Baty] has confidence in that position, which he does, that turns out to be his best position, especially at this field, and it keeps from jerking Carson back and forth.”

The Yankees could not muster any offense, falling to the Cardinals 3-1 on Wednesday night and dropping the series.

Will Warren couldn't follow up his best start of the season and the Yankees left 11 runners on base and were hitless (0-10) with runners in scoring position.

Here are the takeaways...

-Warren got through the first four innings easily, but the Cardinals got to the right-hander in the fifth. After giving up two singles, JJ Wetherholt hit a double over the head of Trent Grisham in center to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead. Ivan Herrera followed up with a ground-rule double to push that lead to three.

Warren would start the sixth, but the Cardinals would get another runner on and knock the right-hander out of the game. 

Kervin Castro was the first out of the bullpen, and he stranded a couple of runners to keep the score 3-0 and put a bow on Warren's night. Warren allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out five batters across 5.1 innings. 

-But the story of this game was the offense's ineptitude. The Yankees were shut out through the first five innings and were able to scratch across a run when Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked with the bases loaded. 

-George Lombard Jr. had a solid second game as a big leaguer. He went 1-for-3 and made some smooth plays on defense.

He had a chance to give the Yankees the lead in the eighth. With two outs and runners on first and second. However, the youngster struck out on three pitches.

-Heliot Ramos went 1-for-3 with a double, his first hit as a Yankee. Luis Garcia Jr. went hitless but walked in his four at-bats.

Game MVP: JJ Wetherholt

The rookie's two-run double was the difference in this one.

Highlights

Heliot Ramos' first hit as a Yankee! pic.twitter.com/oggYRSEPei

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 6, 2026

THE SUMMER OF GEORGE.

WHAT A PLAY BY GEORGE LOMBARD JR.! pic.twitter.com/xSvU7iimoS

— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) August 6, 2026

What's next

The Yankees have an off day on Thursday before welcoming the Braves for a three-game series starting Friday. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Max Fried (4-3, 3.12 ERA) will take the mound. The Braves have not announced a starter.

After a somewhat brief rain delay, the Cardinals were on the receiving end of another good start by Andre Pallante and he finally got some run support when the St. Louis bats woke up mid-game, but would it be enough to earn a victory? Spoiler Alert: YES.

The New York Yankees starter Will Warren and the St. Louis Cardinals Andre Pallante didn’t allow much offense for the first half of the game. Both the Yankees and Cardinals only managed two hits apiece through the first 4 innings. That changed in the top of the 5th when the Cardinals finally put some hits together starting with a leadoff single by Blaze Jordan. After Bryan Torres grounded into a fielder’s choice which forced Jordan at second, Jimmy Crooks laced a single to right giving St. Louis runners at first and second with just one out. Cesar Prieto struck out on a well-called ABS challenge from New York for the second out, but JJ Wetherholt provided some lightning off his bat as he launched a ball that bounced off of the centerfield wall for a double which scored both Torres and Crooks giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

JJ Wetherholt wouldn’t be standing on second base long as Iván Herrera hit an almost identical double to center with the difference being that his bounced into NY’s hall of fame plaque section for a ground rule two-bagger scoring JJ and giving St. Louis a 3-0 lead.

It looked like the Yankees might answer the Cardinals 3-run top of the 5th with a rally of their own in the bottom of the 5th, but Andre Pallante proved he has some Harry Houdini tendencies. With one out, McMahon walked followed by another single from George Lombard Jr., but Andre got a ground ball out of Wells that turned into an inning-ending double play.

The bottom of the 6th inning would be a shining example of how frustrating the second half of the Cardinals season has been. Without even one hit, the New York Yankees would get a gift run from several St. Louis Cardinals mistakes and bad decisions. After getting the first out in the bottom of the 6th, Pallante walked both Rice and Garcia Jr. Rice would end up advancing to second on a Pallante wild pitch that Herrera retrieved and then fired the ball into center field because sometimes we make bad judgements. That would end Pallante’s time on the mound with a respectable 5 1/3 innings giving up just 3 hits while striking out 4. He would end up with an earned run after reliever George Soriano hit Ramos with a pitch to load the bases and two batters later a walk to Jazz Chisholm Jr. walking in a gift run reducing the Cardinals lead to 3-1.

The Cardinals bullpen would transition to Justin Bruihl in the bottom of the 7th after Soriano struck out Lombard Jr. He was greeted by former Cardinal pinch-hitter Paul Goldschmidt who cracked a double down the left field line. Grisham kindly fouled out to third on the first pitch he saw and then Bruihl created unnecessary drama by walking Rice. It fortunately didn’t lead to damage as Luis Garcia Jr. grounded out to Prieto at second to end the Yankees 7th inning.

After the Cardinals failed to add to their lead in the top of the 8th inning, it was Ryne Stanek’s turn to hold the Yankees down in the bottom of the 8th inning. He was successful getting the first two outs, but then lost his control walking Chisholm Jr. and McMahon. That brought up the Yankees young gun George Lombard Jr. He fortunately (for the Cardinals) found his mojo again and struck out Lombard Jr. on three straight pitches.

The Cardinals would threaten in the top of the 9th inning as Blaze Jordan led off with a single to left. After Bryan Torres struck out, Jimmy Crooks doubled off of the left field wall, but Jordan had to hold up at third base as he had to make sure the ball wasn’t caught. Masyn Winn came off the bench to pinch-hit, but he grounded out without scoring Jordan which meant it was up to JJ Wetherholt to come up with a two-out hit. Instead, he walked on four straight pitches to load the bases bringing up Herrera with a prime chance to give the Cardinals some extra breathing room going into the bottom of the 9th. Somehow, he watched three straight strikes pass him by even though one was likely a ball, but Cardinals had no challenges left and that’s the way it goes lately.

That left the bottom of the 9th in Riley O’Brien’s hands with just a two-run lead. He got Goldschmidt to fly out to deep right field on the first pitch. O’Brien then got Grisham to ground out for the second out which meant Home Run Derby contestant Ben Rice was next. Riley walked him to bring up Sanchez as the potential tying run. O’Brien ran the count full, but ended up striking out Sanchez looking giving the Cardinals a nice series win in New York.

The St. Louis Cardinals get a badly-needed day off Thursday before they kickoff a weekend homestand vs the Colorado Rockies Friday night. Kyle Leahy will be the starter for the Cardinals while the Rockies give the ball to RHP Ryan Feltner. First pitch is set for 7:15pm central time at Busch Stadium. The game’s TV broadcast will be available through Cardinals.tv

At long last the losing streak is over. It took a wild game, but the Nats are back in the win column thanks to some overdue clutch hitting and a bunt that will be remembered for years to come. This was a hard fought 11 inning win, but the Nats will take anything they can get right now.

In the beginning of the game it felt like more of the same. The Nats threatened with first and third with nobody out. Unlike recent games, they were at least able to get one run across, but it could have been much more. 

Unsurprisingly, the Nats were not able to keep that one run lead for long. The normally slap hitting Luis Arraez launched his first homer as a Phillie. Later that inning the Phillies were also able to scratch across another run.

However, Jake Irvin was very good outside of that inning. He threw 5.2 innings of two run ball and kept the ball off the barrel outside of that Arraez homer. It was a much needed step in the right direction for the 29 year old righty. The offense was still struggling to get anything going though.

After new Nat Will Dion got a double play to get out of the 6th, the Nats desperately needed some offense. That is exactly what Brady House provided them, crushing a hanging sweeper out to right center. It was his first career pinch hit homer, and that could not have come at a better time.

Following a Jacob Young double, the Nats were able to finally cash in with RISP thanks to CJ Abrams. This was a monster night from the Nats shortstop who truly put the team on his back. He had three hits and was on base four times. Abrams even made a nice defensive play.

With James Wood injured and Luis Garcia Jr. traded, so much of the responsibility is going to have to fall on Abrams. He is the only true heavy hitter in the lineup right now and is the man other teams will circle. Tonight he rose to the occasion and dragged the Nats out of the mud.

His heroics in the 11th inning basically won the Nats this game. In the 11th inning, Abrams hit a triple that just stayed in the yard to give the Nats the lead. When nobody else on the team could deliver in the clutch, Abrams was the guy who came through.

However, it was a journey to even get to that 11th inning. New Nats reliever Yovanny Cruz showed electric stuff but his command was not on point today. It is easy to see the potential of Cruz, but tonight was not his night. Tom Cosgrove did a good job limiting the damage and cleaning up Cruz’s mess though.

Overall, the bullpen did a nice job. They kept the Nats in the game and gave the team opportunities to come back. Finally, they were actually able to come back tonight. It was a great show of heart and determination by a team that has looked flat and under manned lately.

The best moment of the night came after Abrams’ at bat though. The Nats were in a predicament because they got rid of the DH after Andrew Pinckney pinch ran for Abimelec Ortiz. That meant the pitcher was due up third in the lineup in the 11th and the bench was empty.

Blake Butera called upon Miles Mikolas to pinch hit for Clayton Beeter. A seasoned National League veteran, Mikolas spent several years in the NL back when pitchers hit. Out of all the pitchers, Mikolas was most capable of handling the bat and dropping down a bunt. That is exactly what he did, pushing a perfect bunt to the first baseman which scored Abrams.

That moment brought the dugout and the fans some joy we have not seen for a week or two. The smiles in the Nats dugout were very big. They only got bigger when the Nats opened up the floodgates in Philly. The boys put up 6 runs in the 11th, making it a 10-4 game.

In his first outing off the IL, Brad Lord delivered a 1-2-3 inning to give the Nats a much needed win. The seven game losing streak is over, and hopefully that loosens up the guys. After Abrams got that hit with RISP in the 7th, it felt like a weight was lifted off their shoulders. Hopefully the offense can keep the momentum rolling and get a split in Philly tomorrow.

Clippers 8, Mets 4

The Clippers offense had a field day against Mets top pitching prospect Jonah Tong. George Valera, Kody Huff, and Milan Tolentino went back to back to back. Ralphy Velazquez also hit another HR. He now has 5 home runs in his last 8 games.

Logan Allen had a solid start, he allowed just one earned run in 5 innings pitched while striking out 3. His ERA on the season is down to 4.37. Carlos Hernandez got the save in a scoreless inning of relief where he struck out 2 batters. His ERA on the season is now at 2.57.

RubberDucks 2, Patriots 3

Nolan Schubart continues his awesome season. He went 1-3 with a HR and a walk. He is hitting .321 with a 1.011 OPS since being promoted to AA.

The highlight of this game for the RubberDucks was Ryan Degges’s fantastic AA debut. He struck out 8 batters and walked just 2 in 4.1 scoreless innings where he allowed just one hit.

Captains 1, Lugnuts 6

This wasn’t the best game from the Captains. They’re missing multiple key players in Caceres and LaViolette due to injuries. Welbyn Francisca went 1-3 with a walk. Luis De La Cruz went 2-4 and is hitting .375 with an .875 ops since being promoted to Lake County.

Nelson Keljo had a very Nelson Keljo type start. He struck out 6 batters in 3 innings but he also gave up 3 runs. His ERA is up to 4.50 since being promoted to High-A.

Howlers 12, Warbirds 5

This was a great game for the Howlers offense. Jonathan Martinez went 3-5 with a HR, a double, and 4 RBIs. Dauri Fernandez went 1-3 with a walk and a 2 RBI triple. Gabriel Rodriguez went 2-4, Jose Pirela went 3-5 with a 2 run HR.

Miguel Flores allowed 3 runs in 5.1 innings pitched and walked 3 batters and had just 2 strikeouts. His ERA is down to 5.20 on the season. Keegan Zinn struck out 5 batters in his 2.2 innings of relief while allowing an earned run on 3 hits.