Worldwide Sports News

Major League Baseball, proposing that teams be permitted to have 14 pitchers on their 26-man rosters instead of 13 in the next collective bargaining agreement, will also discuss modifying the rule on when position players can be used as pitchers in the game.

Several club executives and managers agree that games are turning into a farce in blowouts with the proliferation of position players taking the mound.

It has become totally absurd, ruining the integrity of the game, and destroying the sanctity of records.

In what once was a bit of comic relief in blowouts has become a disgusting display that’s more suited for the Savannah Bananas than actual major league games.

The Chicago Cubs set a franchise record, one shy of the Major League record, by hitting nine home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers last week, but three of those homers were hit off first baseman Andrew Vaughn. The Cubs were able to pad their stats by facing Vaughn 18 times that night. Eighteen!

Remember when folks were saying that Shohei Ohtani’s 6-for-6 performance with three homers and 10 RBI against the Miami Marlins last year was the greatest game in baseball history?

Well, does it bother anyone that his three-run homer in his final at-bat was off Marlins infielder Vidal Brujan? Would anyone be calling a two-homer, seven-RBI game historic?

Should a prized rookie prospect like Minnesota Twins outfielder Walker Jenkins be laughing when he hits his first career homer with his teammates asking whether it should actually count, considering it was a 37-mph eephus pitch from Detroit Tigers utilityman Zach McKinstry?

Uncle!

Just 20 years ago, not once did a position player come into pitch during a blowout.

Ten years ago, it happened 24 times.

This season, position players have pitched a major-league record 135 times, according to FanGraphs.

It’s almost an everyday occurrence, with every team using a position player to pitch at least once this year, with the Dodgers even using Enrique Hernandez to pitch on the first day of September callups.

A position player has entered the game to pitch five times before the eighth inning, according to FanGraphs, with nine position players staying in the game to record more than three outs.

Athletics infielder Carlos Cortes has pitched nine times!

Enough is enough.

It would be easier to stomach having teams just forfeit games at that point and walk off the field than continuing this charade.

What happens when a position player blows out his arm on the mound, or wildly plunks an opposing hitter in the face? Will we still be laughing?

If MLB doesn’t modify the rule permitting teams to use position players to pitch when trailing by at least eight runs or leading by at least 10 runs in the ninth inning or later, teams should just put a circus tent over the field for the next occasion.

It’s an absolute travesty and has become an embarrassment to the game.

PHOENIX - Dave Dombrowski, sitting on the Philadelphia Phillies bench wearing a golf shirt, sports jacket, slacks and not a hair out of place, gazes across the field at the out-of-town scoreboard.

It’s that time of year.

Another division race.

Another October awaiting.

Dombrowski, 70, is the only baseball executive to lead four different teams to the World Series with 10 playoff berths, nine division titles, five pennants and two World Series championships.

His career will culminate one day in Cooperstown with induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but before he’s done -with another contract extension awaiting him this winter - there’s this fierce desire raging inside of him.

Dombrowski doesn’t want to leave the game without winning it all, at least one more time, for the city of Philadelphia.

He’s still haunted by the memories of 2013 when the Detroit Tigers were the best team in baseball, on their way to the World Series, only for David Ortiz’s stunning grand slam at Fenway Park that flipped the American League Championship Series upside down.

For as much of a bummer as it was in the moment on Friday to see a 10th-inning Yankees lead vanish on a Padres walk-off homer (especially given the inability to hit Walker Buehler), I was never particularly concerned about the Yanks having any spill-over effect. That’s just how the game goes sometimes, especially the 2026 version with zombie runners. So credit to them on getting the scoring in early on Saturday and letting their pitching take it from there. Would I have liked more insurance runs later? Of course, but they ended up with the 5-1 win anyway.

Today on the site, Matt will run through the Rivalry Roundup, John will celebrate a Baby Bomber alum’s 32nd birthday, Scott will discuss some of the notable recent Triple-A action, and John will have the weekly Social Media Spotlight.

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees at San Diego Padres

Time: 4:10 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, Padres.tv

Venue: Petco Park, San Diego, CA

Questions/Prompts:

1. Do you want to see Jasson Domínguez get a start while he’s back from Triple-A, or would you rather he just stay in reserve?

2. Which National League division leader is most likely to crash out in the first round?

The Athletic | Chris Kirschner ($): It’s been a long season, most of which the Yankees have spent without their Captain and the undisputed greatest hitter on the planet. But that could change soon. Friday in San Diego, he took batting practice for the first time. Saturday on the FOX broadcast, Ken Rosenthal said there are no plans to ease Judge in. If he plays, he’s in the lineup for the game, though he’ll likely get the next game off at first. Aaron Boone did not foresee Judge facing live pitching over the weekend, making a Tuesday return unlikely. But the skipper did say the upcoming homestand might be the time Judge’s towering presence (literal and metaphorical) returns to the Yankees — in right field as well.

CNBC | Michael Ozanian: The Angels’ record $4 million sale from Arte Moreno to Stan Kroenke had ripple effects on franchise valuations throughout the game as an updated market baseline of sorts. Just for one outlet’s example, CNBC updated its team-by-team estimates and the Yankees are now valued at $12 billion, “28 percent more than in March [2026],” with revenue total of $755 million. The valuation is tops in MLB per CNBC, $4 million ahead of the Dodgers. So… congrats to Hal Steinbrenner I suppose, should his family ever actually decide to put this racket behind.

Twitter | Bryan Hoch: From Wee Willie to The Bambino, sort of. Jasson Domínguez (who’s suffered an unfair comparision or 10 in his time) was asked about Anthony Volpe (who’s been on a homer a day binge recently) while the two were in Triple-A together prior to Domínguez’s call-up in the aftermath of Trent Grisham’s injury.* The Martian’s answer: “He became Barry Bonds, all the time, every day. It’s crazy. … He’s working his ass off to get better, and you can see it every day.” I’d love to see Volpe have an amazing second act as a Yankee. But like Durango, I won’t hold my breath.

*Call this a secondary update, but here’s a little more on Grisham’s status (though he was “doing light work” in the outfield yesterday). Aaron Boone also said that Spencer Jones will get most of the time in center with Grisham out.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The Milwaukee Brewers seek a series victory when they visit Great American Ballpark and the Cincinnati Reds for Game 3 of their three-game National League Central series.

With the Brewers lineup holding a solid edge, my Brewers vs. Reds predictions and MLB picks expect the Brewers to win the series in a slugfest. 

Who will win Brewers vs Reds today: Pick (61%)

For help understanding probabilities, see our odds calculator.

The Milwaukee Brewers hold a massive edge on the mound with Kyle Harrison facing Cincinnati Reds starter Brady Singer.

Harrison misses bats at an elite clip with a 29.1% strikeout rate, backed by a stingy 3.52 xERA and a .291 xwOBA. Singer pitches to way too much hard contact, coughing up a 42.6% hard-hit rate and a weak 18.5% strikeout rate.

With lefties Jake Bauers (.372 xwOBA) and Garrett Mitchell (.348 xwOBA) set up to punish Singer's sinker, trade the juice on the 88-win Brewers.

Play this to 65%. 

COVERS INTEL: Across the past 14 days, the Milwaukee Brewers are slugging .438 with a third-best .800 OPS. 

Brewers vs Reds Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (56%)

The Over 8.5 is the right look.

While Harrison limits hard contact early, both bullpens enter this game primed to bleed late runs. Over the last 14 days, Cincinnati’s relief corps has been hammered for a 5.76 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and 1.39 HR/9.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s 2.68 bullpen ERA is living on borrowed time against an ugly 4.62 FIP, 4.40 xFIP, and 1.34 HR/9.

In a launch pad like Great American Ball Park, expect both pens to cough up late traffic and push this past 8.5.

Play this to 60%. 

Brewers vs Reds home run prediction: Jake Bauers (25%)

Jake Bauers looks good to hit a home run today.

Singer’s sinker-heavy approach surrenders a vulnerable 42.6% hard-hit rate and a .342 xwOBA, while Bauers crushes right-handed pitching with elite power metrics. 

Bauers leads Milwaukee with a 13.4% barrel rate, a massive 53.1% hard-hit rate, and a .469 xSLG.

In Great American Ball Park’s short porch, expect Bauers to launch Singer’s sinker over the right-field wall.

Brewers vs Reds weather

It will be a sunny and humid day in Cincinnati with 10mph winds blowing out to right-center, which is ideal for plenty of runs today. 

Brewers vs Reds odds

• Moneyline: Brewers 58% | Reds 43%
• Run line: Brewers -1.5 (49%) | Reds +1.5 (54%)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (54%) | Under 8.5 (49%)

Brewers vs Reds trend

Over is 6-1 in Brewers' last 7 road games. Find more MLB betting trends for Brewers vs. Reds.

How to watch Brewers vs Reds and game info

Brewers vs Reds latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Guardians looked rough today in a 6-0 loss to the Tigers. Parker Messick did give up three runs in 6 innings but he also set a career high with 12 strikeouts. He was fantastic tonight. Matt Festa was bad but it wouldn’t have mattered considering we couldn’t score a single run.

The Guardians lineup managed just three hits and one walk. It is simply impossible to win a game with that type of offensive output. On the bright side, Austin Peterson made his MLB debut and struckout three batters in two scoreless innings of relief. It may have been garbage time but it was still very fun to watch and it’s a moment he will never forget.

The Guardians will look to take 3/4 tomorrow. It will be Gavin Williams vs Jackson Jobe at 1:40 pm ET. This is a crucial game for the Guardians.

Jasson Domínguez joined the Yankees on Saturday from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he was on a strong run at the plate — but still not enough to be the hottest hitter on the team. 

That title belonged to Anthony Volpe, who entered Saturday having crushed five home runs in his past five games — a span in which he was hitting 12-for-17 (.706) with a 2.527 OPS — and eight in his past 14 games. 

“He became Barry Bonds all of a sudden, hitting a homer every day,” Domínguez said with a grin. “It’s crazy.” 

Since he was demoted to Triple-A and replaced by George Lombard Jr. last month, Volpe has been bouncing around between shortstop, second base and third base to give him some defensive flexibility and increase his chances of getting back to the Yankees should they suffer an injury. 

In the meantime, though, Volpe, , who went 1-for-3 with two walks in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s loss on Saturday night, has been beating up on Triple-A pitching after hitting just one home run in 56 big league games this season. 

“He’s working his ass off to get better, and you can see it every day, I’m telling you,” said Domínguez, who entered Saturday’s game in the sixth inning in right field and went 0-for-1 with a long flyout to center field. “I feel like the last two weeks, he’s hit a homer every day.”

The professional journey made by first baseman Ty France is highlighted by two seasons that have resulted in at least 20 home runs as part of his game. The other part of his game is his defense at first base, which leads all of baseball this year.

A San Diego product

Drafted out of Tony Gwynn’s SDSU team by the Padres in 2015, France spent three seasons in the Padres’ minor league system. He was placed on the 40-man roster at the end of the 2018 season to avoid the Rule 5 Draft. 

Starting 2019 with Triple-A El Paso, France was called up in April and made his major league debut. He bounced back to El Paso soon after and was called back up in August for the rest of that season.

Originally playing both first and third base, France was blocked by Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer, which resulted in a trade to Seattle during the 2020 COVID season. France played for the Mariners from August 2020 to July 2024 and the slugger was an All-Star in 2022. 

While trying to increase his bat speed, France tweaked his hitting mechanics, which resulted in his worst offensive season in 2024. He hit .234 with 13 home runs. Seattle then traded him in July of 2024; he finished the season with Cincinnati. 

After signing as a free agent with the Minnesota Twins in February 2025, France had another subpar start, hitting .251 with six home runs. Traded to Toronto at the deadline, France played in 37 games for the Blue Jays during their playoff race. He hit .277 with one home run while reaching the World Series. He also won his first Gold Glove at season’s end.

France excels at first base

Switching primarily to first base in the 2022 season, France took note of his poor defensive rating at the position. He spent his offseasons working on improving his defense, culminating in that first Gold Glove.

After the two seasons with offensive numbers he wasn’t satisfied with, France got back to being the hitter he had been before tweaking his mechanics. 

Back home in San Diego

Signing a minor league deal in February 2026 with the team that drafted him, France was guaranteed $1.35 million if he made the Opening Day roster.

Splitting time at first and DH with Gavin Sheets during the spring, France hit .306/.352/.510 with two home runs and 12 RBI to force himself onto the Padres roster. He continued to platoon with Sheets to start the season but asserted himself as the regular starter by midseason. Besides his power surge this season, France hits equally well versus right-handed as left-handed pitching. 

In 115 games and 370 at-bats, France is hitting .295/.363/.519 with an .882 OPS, almost 100 points higher than his closest full-time teammate (Fernando Tatis Jr .794). With 20 homers and 62 RBI, France leads all Padres in average and OPS. His OBP is also the best of all regular starters. An fWAR of 3.3 also leads all Padres by a wide margin. Catcher Luis Campusano, with 56 games and 159 at-bats, is the only teammate who comes close to his production.

France could have been trade bait

With a .500 record approaching the trade deadline in July, multiple teams were expected to pursue France, but the Padres decided to add and not sell. Before that decision, MLB Network looked at what made France successful for the Padres and what other teams might covet.

While leading the Padres offensively, France has been the most consistent Friar this year. He has also shown that his defensive skills can make a real difference to a team that is trying to make the playoffs. 

Currently, France leads all first basemen in Defensive Runs Saved, a defensive metric that reflects how many runs a player saves their team compared to the average player. It includes range, arm strength, double-play ability, and errors. A rating of 10-14 is great, while 15 or above is Gold Glove caliber.

While the MLB Network analysis shows that France excels at lifting low strikes out of the ballpark, his batted-ball data also shows that he is hitting opposite field as much or more than at any other time in his career. France has credited the Padres hitting coaches with helping him stay consistent this season.

“I’ve got to give Steven [Souza Jr.] and the hitting [coaches] a lot of credit,” France said. “When things are going bad, they don’t let it fester. They just say, ‘Hey, this is what we see. This is what you’re doing. Let’s get back to this,’ or ‘Let’s try this.’ So you have to give them a lot of the credit.”

 A Sports Illustrated feature highlighted what France feels is the main reason for his breakout this year. 

France has also said he would like to stay with the Padres after this season. The new ownership could make Padres fans happy by signing France, as well as reliever Adrian Morejon, to extensions after this season.

With only three weeks left in the regular schedule, no other Padre has a chance to have as much of an impact on the team this season as Ty France. This could be A.J. Preller’s best minor league acquisition ever. It is certainly his best of 2026.

LOS ANGELES — Tommy Edman made a fantastic defensive play to rob extra bases, then rounded said bases after a three-run home run that helped the Dodgers to a 6-5 win over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.

Down two runs in the seventh inning, Alex Freeland walked with one out and Kiké Hernández singled with two out. That set the stage for Edman, who jumped on a high slider from former Dodgers draft pick Clayton Beeter for a three-run home run, turning the game around.

Edman in five games on the homestand has nine hits in 22 at-bats (.409), what a way to make a living.

“He’s a heck of a ballplayer,” manager Dave Roberts said. “You can put him anywhere on the diamond. Makes plays defensively, takes good at-bats. He has the knack for the big hit. And he’s playing his tail off. Obviously we don’t have Shohei, and to be able to put Tommy in there and really still be productive, it’s great.”

With no Shohei Ohtani in the lineup for a third straight day, the Dodgers were also without two other planned starters with Dalton Rushing scratched with elbow soreness and Max Muncy sick. They still managed to score a pair off Washington’s best starter, Cade Cavalli in the opening frame. Freddie Freeman was hit by a pitch and Mookie Betts singled with one out. Teoscar Hernández continued his solid week or so with an RBI single, and catcher Hunter Feduccia added another.

Tyler Glasnow struck out eight but pitched through traffic most of his night, and allowed four runs.

Glasnow wasn’t the only one having a challenging night. Home plate umpire Rob Drake had four ball-strike calls overturned by ABS challenge in the first three and a half innings, all challenges by Washington. It took until James Wood struck out looking to end the fourth inning for the Nationals to lose a challenge.

That strikeout of Wood left Dylan Crews at third base, and Glasnow also stranded runners on second and third in the second inning and another runner on second base in the third.

Glasnow nearly gave up another extra-base hit to open the fifth inning, but Edman rescued him with this catch to rob Daylen Lile. Glasnow’s “holy shit” reaction says it all.

Glasnow started the seventh inning trailing by a run, but was pulled after a leadoff double by Crews. Crews scored on a double by Lile off Alex Vesia to close the book on Glasnow.

Alex Call was clipped by a pitch with the bases loaded for an insurance run in the eighth. That extra offense was very much needed, as the Nationals threatened after Tanner Scott struck out his first two batters of the frame.

With the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, Scott struck out Abrams to preserve the nail-biter.

Saturday particulars

Home run: Tommy Edman (6)

WP — Alex Vesia (2-1): 1 IP, 1 hit, 2 strikeouts

LP — Clayton Beeter (5-5): 2/3 IP, 2 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk

Sv — Tanner Scott (21): 1 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 3 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers finish things off with the Nationals with a rare super late start on Sunday (7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA). Justin Wrobleski, Bobby Miller, and friends will fill innings in series finale, with left-hander Andrew Alvarez on the mound for Washington. Wrobleski will get the ball first for the home team.

It was a disastrous road trip. 

The San Diego Padres had an opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the trailing Arizona Diamondbacks. Instead they played poorly, losing five out of six games, and are now a half game back in the Wild Card chase.

It was a team-wide failure, for sure. Poor pitching, offense and defense derailed any hope of coming home with a little cushion in the standings. Since going 21-7 from July to late August, the Friars have won two of their last nine games. They have multiple one-run losses, showing no killer instinct or urgency, over that stretch. 

The Friars now have seven series left in the season, beginning this weekend with the New York Yankees. New York will be followed by three against the Washington Nationals for a six-game home stand. 

After an off day, they hit the road again for three against division rival San Francisco Giants and four versus the Colorado Rockies. Those two teams have losing records but this team is seven games under .500 on the road.

They are also 27-36 versus over .500 teams. Four of the coming seven series are against teams that currently have winning records. After the road series against the Giants and Rockies, the last road games are the three against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 22-24. There are 12 at home and 10 on the road.

This is go time for the Padres. If they don’t put the throttle down in all phases of the game, the season will end without any playoff games. It seems obvious that this team is not currently playing like a championship team. Cleaning things up in all parts of the game will have to happen quickly if they have any hope of going anywhere past the end of the regular season.

Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta updates

President of baseball operations A.J.Preller was on the flagship radio station (97.3 TheFan) this morning and provided an update on the status of the two Padres pitchers. Musgrove hasn’t pitched since his rehab start with the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas on Aug. 27. His arm has not rebounded well from his start, experiencing soreness that has kept him from being able to pitch in a game since then. Preller said he is throwing but there is no timeline for his next appearance. Preller also said that Musgrove is sufficiently built up to help the team if it is determined he is healthy enough to pitch.

Nick Pivetta completed a rehab assignment with El Paso on Aug. 30. Preller stated he is in San Diego this weekend for evaluation and could be with the Padres “sooner rather than later.”

It would be a big lift to the team if either one of them could add innings to this pitching staff, either as a starter or out of the bullpen.

Casey Mize

Preller also discussed the difficulties Mize has had since arriving with the team. He has had six starts since the trade deadline. In three of those games he has allowed two or fewer runs. In the other three, he has had big innings, giving up eight, four, and four runs respectively. Overall, he has a 6.67 ERA in 27 innings pitched.

Preller reported there is no injury issue and the issue has been identified as part mechanics and part sequencing. Pitching coach Ruben Niebla is working with Mize to correct those issues so that he can return to the dominant starter he was before being traded.

Offensive offense

Over the last nine games that resulted in two wins, the Padres hit .153 with runners in scoring position. That was a 12-for-78 futility which could explain the five one-run losses over that stretch.

Another issue was all the bunting. There is a place for bunting in the game but the Padres seem too reliant on sacrificing an out to move a runner. It implies that the hitters have no confidence in their ability to swing away for a hit. The last nine games featured four bunts that resulted in pop-up outs. Jake Cronenworth had two of them, Samad Taylor had one and Sung-Mun Song had the other.

Sung-Mun Song on the bench

Song has been particularly ineffective offensively and should only be in the game for defensive purposes to protect a lead. It is too late in the season to be trying to get him going with the bat. 

In 65 games and 121 at-bats, Song is hitting .190/.293/.248 with four doubles and a home run. He has also made some bad baserunning decisions and squares to bunt in some puzzling situations.

Manny Machado is a concern

The Padres stated at the beginning of the season their intention to get more rest for aging veteran Manny Machado. That hasn’t really worked out and we are seeing an injured and tired Machado as the season nears the end.

Battling through the worst season of his career, Machado has had more DH days than in the past but few days off. He and manager Craig Stammen acknowledged that he has worked through the season with multiple injuries.

Machado is known for his desire to post through the year. It is an admirable trait and reportedly he is widely respected in the clubhouse for his desire to play every day. There are diminishing returns with that approach as a player ages and becomes less effective. We might be seeing that time has arrived for Machado.

Ethan Salas arrives

The Padres might not have originally intended to promote top prospect Ethan Salas this year. It can be argued that they didn’t need him until Luis Rengifo injured his knee against Tampa Bay and will now be out for the rest of the year. 

The roster expansion in MLB on Sept. 1 allows all 30 teams to expand their roster by one pitcher and one position player. Before Rengifo and lefty Gavin Sheets were both placed on the injured list, the Padres didn’t need another left-handed bat. Once those two were injured, Salas was the logical choice. 

Salas had a great recovery from the back injury that kept him out of most of the 2025 season. Playing in 96 games between both Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso, Salas hit .296/.374/.448 with 19 doubles, two triples and 10 home runs with 61 RBI. He had 17 stolen bases in 25 attempts.

Even more impressive are his defensive stats. His 33% caught stealing with El Paso also featured throws consistently hitting low to mid-80’s mph and pop times in the 1.86 to 1.89 seconds. The MLB average for pop time is 2.0 seconds and caught stealing percentages are 21-29%.

At 20-years-old, Salas will continue to add muscle and will add to his power numbers as he matures. He lends a bit more excitement to the end of the 2026 season for the Padres.

Roster changes

Rengifo is lost for the rest of the season after requiring surgery for his torn ACL.

RHP Jhony Brito was the other player brought up for the Sept. 1 roster expansion. He started and relieved this season for El Paso.

Outfielder Samad Taylor returned to the Padres when Sheets was placed on the injured list after aggravating the plantar fasciitis that he has been battling for weeks. It is being labeled as a left foot sprain.

Infielder Sung-Mun Song was recalled from El Paso when Rengifo went on the IL.

Box Score

What looked like a nice early game on a Saturday evening turned into a long night. Both teams went back and forth scoring, with a long rain delay splitting the game into two halves. Unfortunately, the rain dampened an early Brewers’ lead, and they could not recover as they lost 5-3.

The game started with both teams trading home runs. Wiliam Contreras got the Brewers on the board with a two-out solo home run off starter Andrew Abbott, giving the Brewers an early 1-0 lead.

That lead only held until the bottom the inning. With Dustin May pitching, Elly De La Cruz launched a solo home run of his own, tying the game at 1-1. The Reds threatened after that with a Sal Stewart single and stolen base, but May stranded him there.

Both teams traded 1-2-3 innings in the second. In the third, David Hamilton led off the inning with a single. After Chourio flew out, Luis Lara was up to bat. Hamilton went for the steal but Abbott threw to first to try to pick him off. Stewart threw to second and likely would have had him with a good throw, but the throw sailed into left field and Hamilton made it to third. Lara brought in Hamiilton with a groundout, and the Brewers had a 2-1 lead.

May held that lead until the fourth inning. He struck out two of the first three batters he saw, with a JJ Bleday single in-between the strikeouts. Eugenio Suárez worked an eight-pitch at-bat before singling to put runners at the corners. As this was going on, rain started falling harder on the field, and the game entered a rain delay.

The delay lasted for two hours and 22 minutes. Initially, it looked like it would end about halfway through that, but a second wave of rain hit and extended the delay. When the delay ended, both starters were done for the day. May was going to be pulled even if it was a shorter delay, though Abbott might have continued with a short delay.

When the game resumed, Pat Murphy brought in DL Hall. Jose Trevino was the first batter back from the delay, and he tied the game with a single to right. That run was charged to May, and the Reds had a 2-2 lead. Hall struck out Carlos Jorge to end the inning

May’s day came to an early end for the second time in three games, this time thanks to the rain delay. He finished the day with 3 2/3 innings pitched, allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts. He only threw 56 pitches, and the rain delay ended his chance at a redemption start.

Both bullpens took over from here. Julian Garcia worked around a walk for a clean fifth. Hall got into a little bit of two-out trouble, allowing a single and a walk, but struck out Bleday to end the inning.

Tejay Antone pitched the sixth for the Reds. He walked Andrew Vaughn but that was all. JoJo Romero took the sixth for the Brewers. He did not fare as well. Tyler Stephenson led off the inning, and he hit a high and inside sinker into the left field stands. Romero got through the next three batters without issue, but the Brewers were now behind 3-2.

The Brewers responded in the next inning against Tony Santillan. Cooper Pratt, Gary Sánchez, and Hamilton hit three straight singles to load the bases with one out. Jackson Chourio tied the game at 3-3 with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Pratt and moving Sánchez to third. After Lara walked to reload the bases, Contreras struck out to end the threat.

Once again, the Reds responded right away. Aaron Ashby took the seventh, and he also gave up a leadoff home run. This time, it was by Matt McLain, who hit a sinker right down the middle out to right field. The Brewers were behind 4-3 now. The Reds kept the pressure up with a Hector Rodriguez single, and initially he stretched it into a double as he just got into second. However, on review, Chourio’s throw got to Brice Turang (who entered the game in the seventh) just in time, and Turang got the tag. That erased a potential double, which kept another run from scoring after Stewart hit a single two batters later. Ashby got out of the inning, though the Brewers were still behind.

Reds’ reliever Brock Burke kept the Brewers in check in the eighth inning. Grant Anderson came in for the eighth inning for the Brewers. After a one-out double by Suárez, Trevino was up at the plate. On a 2-2 count, Anderson spiked a ball in the dirt to Sánchez’s right, but it took a sharp bounce and ended up at the backstop to Sánchez’s left. Sánchez couldn’t find the ball, and Suárez ran home from second. There was a chance to get Suárez at home plate, but Sánchez’s quick throw was off and Suárez scored. It was an unfortunate run that pushed the deficit to 5-3.

With the Brewers down two and facing closer Emilio Pagán in the ninth, Murphy went all-out to try and get the lead. He started off by pinch hitting Christian Yelich for Pratt, but Yelich struck out. Sánchez doubled to get a runner in scoring position, as well as bring the tying run to the plate. Murphy used another pinch-hitter in Jake Bauers, this time for Hamilton. It would have been a very interesting defensive alignment had the game continued, with Murphy pinch-hitting for two of his three infielders, after already pinch-hitting for Joey Ortiz earlier in the game.

The move did work as Bauers drew a walk. Jackson Chourio then loaded the bases with a single to left, putting the go-ahead run at first base. The Brewers had two chances to grab the lead from there. Lara popped out to short for the second out. Contreras then put together a seven-pitch at-bat, and finished it hitting a ball deep to center field. Unfortunately, it was not deep enough, and it turned into a routine fly out to end the game.

Sánchez and Hamilton led the offense with two-hit days. Chourio, Lara, and Contreras each drove in a run. The offense scattered eight hits and four walks in the game, but the Reds’ offense was better with 12 hits and a walk.

Including the delay, this game took five hours and seven minutes. With the game ending just before 11 p.m. Central (midnight Eastern), both teams will barely have twelve hours between games. Tomorrow’s rubber match will take place at 11:10 a.m., and Kyle Harrison will face Brady Singer.

I came into this game feeling as steeped in negativity and creeping doomerism regarding our offense’s recent struggles as I would imagine the rest of you all have been. It is, after all, a rather remarkable thing we achieved over the previous five games—only scoring six runs across forty-five innings, and having failed to drive a runner in who was in scoring position in something like 30 of those innings. So I made a conscious choice, as I was turning on the game and saying hello to the Gameday Thread, to choose to believe that the offense would show up today. And much to my relief, and frankly my surprise as the game dragged on, the offense did!

It honestly didn’t look terrific in the early going. We had Brandon Pfaadt going up against a rookie righthander named Ethan Pecko, and on paper anyway we seemed to have the distinct advantage. Lars Nootbaar led off the top of the first with a six-pitch walk, which seemed like a good sign until he was left standing there as the next three batters flew out to various parts of the Houston outfield.

It looked even more hopeful in the second, when Corbin Carroll—who was bumped down to fifth in the lineup tonight, a move that was long overdue—dunked a ball into shallow center in front of Daulton Varsho and turned on the jets as soon as he left the batter’s box to leg out a nice hustle double. Nolan Arenado then singled on a grounder to left that advanced Corbin to third, giving us runners on the corners with nobody out. But Max Kepler popped out to first on the first pitch he saw, Tim Tawa struck out swinging on three pitches, and Ryan Waldschmidt grounded out to third to strand the runners. It was truly abysmal, especially Kepler’s and Tawa’s ABs.

In the top of the third, Gabriel Moreno hit a two-out double off the wall in left field, but as is often the case with two-out doubles, he remained standing on second base as the final out was recorded. So, in a pattern that has become intensely familar to all of us lately, we had chances and came away with nothing. Boo.

Pfaadt, at least, was doing his job, setting the Astros down in order in the first and the second. He ran into some trouble in the bottom of the third, allowing a leadoff single to Yainer Diaz followed by a Taylor Trammell double to give Houston runners on second and third with nobody out. Rather remarkably, Brandon nearly wriggled off the hook, inducing an infield pop-out and then a strikeoout before intentionally walking AL MVP frontrunner Yordan Alvarez and surrendering an Isaac Paredes single to right that drove in two. 2-0 Houston

If I’m completely honest, that was when I started to really wonder. I mean, Pfaadt had been pitching well, and he continued to pitch well after that, but going by our run production in the previous four games, chances seemed good that the game was basically over. Optimism is hard.

We did get a run back in the top of the fifth, thanks to a leadoff single by Tim Tawa, a Waldschmidt squibber back to the mound that advanced him to second, and a Lars Nootbaar single to right that got him to third. A number of folks in the Gameday Thread seemed cranky that Tawa got the stop sign at third rather than trying to score, and I felt that way, too, because it’s not like we’ve been doing the job of getting folks in from third base for quite a few games now. But, after the Astros pulled their starter and went to their bullpen, Geraldo Perdomo came to the plate and hit a fly ball to deep enough in center field that Tawa was able to tag and score. 2-1 Houtson

Of course, we immediately gave that run right back in the bottom of the fifth in a sequence that wound up adding another earned run to Brandon Pfaadt’s pitching line but which really wasn’t his fault. He surrendered a one-out triple to Cam Smith, the Astros’ right fielder and nine-hole hitter, but induced a grounder to short on his very next pitch. Perdomo made a head’s up play and threw immediately to third to catch Smith, who’d started down the line but tried to go back to the base. That put a runner on first with two outs, Pfaadt then walked Alvarez, this time unintentionally, and Isaac Paredes doinked a fly ball into shallow center that Ryan Waldschmidt misread off the bat, breaking back toward the warning track before realizing that he really needed to be coming in. He wound up having to dive for the ball, he wound up missing, the ball dropped for a single when it really should have been the third out. 3-1 Houston

A guy named Kai Wei Teng came out of the Houston ‘pen for the top of the seventh, and after striking out Max Kepler—who is an ex-doper and who sucks and who shouldn’t be in our lineup again, like, ever—walked Tawa and Waldschmidt to bring Nootbaar to the plate for the fourth time in the ballgame. Teng was pulled for yet anouther Astros reliever, and Nootbaar greeted him with an RBI double to right:

Waldschmidt probably could have scored from third, but once again, the stop sign got thrown up, and again there was gnashing of teeth in the GDT, and two outs later, Ryan was still standing on third. 3-2 Houston

Happily, however, Ketel Marte led off the top of the eighth for us, and while I know a lot of folks still have very mixed feelings about him and his role on the team at this point, he did provide the faithful with a reminder of why he can be a useful guy to have around:

I gotta say, I was really happy to see that, and not just because it tied the game up. But it did, and that’s really the main thing. 3-3 TIE

Josh Hader pitched a scoreless top of the ninth, Jonathan Loaisiga put up a zero for us in the bottom (following zeroes from Ginkel and Morillo in the seventh and eighth) to send us off to extra innings. Ildemaro Vargas, who’d come in to pinch hit for Nootbaar in the ninth, served as our Manfred Man, and Perdomo bunted him to third before Gabriel Moreno singled him home with a line drive out to right center. Brandyn Garcia retired the Astros in order, leaving their Manfred Man stranded, and earning us a much-needed W. 4-3 D-BACKS

Win Probability Added, courtesy of FanGraphs

Shooting Stars: Brandyn Garcia (1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K, SAVE, +44% WPA), Lars Nootbaar (4 AB, 2 H, 1 2B, 1 RBI, +30% WPA)
Twinkle, Twinkle: Ketel Marte (5 AB, 1 H, 1 RBI, 1 HR, +13% WPA)
Black Holes of Suck: Geraldo Perdomo (3 AB, 0 H, 1 RBI, 1 K, -20% WPA), Max Kepler (4 AB, 0 H, 2 K, -13% WPA)

After a fairly slow start, the Gameday Thread definitely picked up speed once the offense started to, you know, put up some runs and make things competitive, so we finished out the night with an eminently respectable 306 comments at time of writing. Of the comments that aged well and wound up reflecting the final outcome, I’m giving tonight’s Comment of the Game to Snake_Bitten, for this very true observation:

Yeah. I don’t think Ildemaro Vargas could have sent that pitch over the wall in right to tie the game up and give us the chance to win it in extras. So. Chew on that, haters, I guess.

Stop by tomorrow as we go for a needed series win against the Garbage Pail Kids. Hologram Eddie goes for the good guys; righty and Colorado Rockies castoff Peter Lambert goes for Houston. First pitch is scheduled for 11:10AM AZ time, and if I’m not mistaken ISH will be doing the guest recap. Hope you can join us!

As always, thanks for reading, and as always, go Diamondbacks!

Out-of-Town Scoreboard

Yankees 5, Padres 2
Cubs 6, Marlins 5
Rockies 10, Cardinals 7

So that puts us back in sole possession of the third wild card spot, with San Diego trailing us by 1/2 game. Meanwhile, the Marlins and the Cardinals are now each four games back, so it seems increasingly likely that we’re not going to need to worry about them in the rearview mirror.

On Friday night, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was cautiously optimistic.

“I’ll take the two wins,” he said, when asked if his club was “on a roll” after winning back-to-back games for the first time in a couple weeks. “I think, offensively, we’re starting to do some good things.”

Twenty-four hours later, he and the Dodgers had even more reason for belief.

The two-time defending champions still aren’t firing on all cylinders, and they’re still just .500 over the last two months.

But after weeks of middling play, they just might be turning a corner all the same, battling back (and then, in a hairy ninth inning, hanging on) for a come-from-behind 6-5 win over the Washington Nationals on Saturday that gave them some tangible momentum to finally latch onto.

For much of the evening, the night was shaping up to be a frustrating dud.

Shohei Ohtani was out of the lineup again. Max Muncy (sick) and Dalton Rushing (a flare-up of the slightly torn ligament in his elbow that he’s been playing through) were scratched a couple hours before first pitch.

The offense scored two first-inning runs, then went quiet. Tyler Glasnow was not sharp in a six-plus-inning, four-run start, turning the early lead into a two-run deficit by the time he exited.

The Dodgers, however, pride themselves on winning the “big moments.”

And Saturday, none was bigger than when Tommy Edman stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh.

Two runners were aboard, after a walk from Alex Freeland and single from Kiké Hernández. The Nationals had turned to their historically wretched bullpen, which is on pace to set an MLB record in blown saves.

Right on cue, Edman took advantage.

Former Dodgers prospect Clayton Beeter threw him an elevated slider in a 2-and-1 count. Edman –– who had already electrified the crowd earlier in the night with a leaping catch at the wall in center field –– turned on it from the left side of the plate and launched a go-ahead three-run home run to the right-field pavilion, igniting a celebration at Chavez Ravine that was equal parts triumph and relief.

“Good hard fought win,” Edman said. “A lot of intense moments in the game. A lot of big moments from a lot of guys. Just anything we can do to win ball games, it’s especially important at this part of the year.”

After all, the Dodgers are running out of time to get themselves right.

Each of their previous potential second-half turning points –– like consecutive sweeps of the Rockies and Pirates last month, or even their series win over the Tigers last week –– have proven to be false starts.

Each time they’ve seemed to be gaining traction, their offense goes cold, or their pitching hits a snag, or they have another injury setback that dampens the mood around the team.

For much of Saturday –– including a ninth-inning scare that saw the Nationals put the tying and go-ahead runners in scoring position –– they were threatening to fall victim to all three fates.

By the end of it, however, they were officially back on the upswing as winners of three-straight games.

This time, they need it to be a real catapult over the rest of the season.

“It’s just good to see our offense come to life and get timely hits, take a lot of walks, create stress and get some big hits,” Roberts said. “Yeah, it’s time to go, and I think our guys understand that.”